Poor drainage: Amritsar civic body caught on the wrong foot
AMRITSAR: Though the state government and the civic authorities have spent crores to improve infrastructure in Amritsar, no system has been devised to ameliorate the drainage system. As a result, a few hours of rain throws life out of gear with waterlogged roads and storm water entering houses.
The situation has turned from bad to worse over the years even as Amritsar is being developed as a Smart City under the Union government project. Half-an-hour of rain on Wednesday exposed ill-preparedness of the municipal corporation for the monsoon.
With the increase in population, the underground sewerage system remains choked at many places. An MC official said the city has 200km of main sewer line in 85 wards. The MC deployed super suction machines to de-silt the main line, but the work is going on at a slow pace, he said. Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said only 40% of the total de-silting work has been completed in the citsy so far.
The city also has 28 disposal plants to draw water from sewer lines. “But this system doesn’t work due to frequent power cuts during rains. The suction pumps also turn ineffective during heavy rain,” said an MC official. Though the MC was advised to lay storm sewer system, the MC has failed to do so.
“Interlocking tiles laid during the previous SAD-BJP government’s regime along roads, gardens and public places are also to blame for the situation as they obstruct rainwater percolation,” said the mayor. The chronic flooding points in the city are Hall gate to Ram Bagh gate, area near bus stand, Heritage Street, Lawrence Road and Ranjit Avenue.
City resident Satish Kapoor said the sewerage system in Amritsar is too old and the MC is not paying any heed towards revamping it.
Deepak Babbar, president of Mission Agaaz, an NGO, said due to the poor design of the holy city, residents face problem of waterlogging every monsoon. The government should come up with a plan to spare some area on both sides of all roads of the city for greenbelts.
The problem is not so grave this season. The work on desilting storm sewer lines is on. Improving of drainage system is our priority. KARAMJIT SINGH RINTU,, Amritsar mayor