Bathinda flooded, man killed in roof collapse
BATHINDA: A six-hour-long downpour, the heaviest in Bathinda this monsoon season, brought the city to a standstill on Sunday, exposing the ill-preparedness of municipal authorities yet another time.
The city received 81mm rain, said Dr Raj Kumar, an agro-meteorology scientist at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU)’s regional research centre in Bathinda.
There was a flood-like situation in most parts of the city represented in the Punjab assembly by finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, with the water level reaching over 5 feet at some places. Low-lying areas such as Paras Ram Nagar, Power House Road, Mall Road and Sirki Bazaar were the worst-affected by the rainfall that started around 5am and continued till 11am.
Manohar Singh (50), a local resident, died while his son Azad Singh (22) sustained serious injuries after the roof of their house at the city’s Bhalerian Wala Mohalla collapsed during rainfall on Sunday.
Azad is under treatment at the civil hospital.
Residents from various localities complained of water entering their houses, causing damage to buildings and household items. Even the posh localities like Model Town and vicinity of Sepal Hotel faced waterlogging probably for the first time.
Many were forced to stay in their houses on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
The municipal authorities started an operation to drain out the water. Former Bathinda legislator Sarup Chand Singla blamed political interference in the functioning of the municipal corporation, demanding compensation for the loss of property and goods of the city residents.
“Waterlogging is a chronic problem in the city and the Congress leadership failed to take any concrete step. Flooding is caused due to poor maintenance of drains and failure of enhanced capacity to flush out the rainwater. Haphazard repair of streets ahead of the state elections disturbed road levels and flooded streets,” said Singla.
Municipal commissioner Bikramjit Shergill said the civic body for the first time pressed into service 940 hp capacity pumps to drain out water. “Last year, pumps of a total capacity of 440 hp were deployed. Had it been the last season, it would take us to drain water in more than 24 hours whereas the city roads will be cleared of water before midnight,” he said.