Monsoon is here, drains’ maintenance far from over in Chandigarh

Despite expenditure of Rs 1 crore by the municipal corporation (MC) every year during monsoons on maintenance of sewerage and drains in Chandigarh, most of the road gullies in the northern sectors were found to be blocked during an HT reality check on Thursday.

Despite expenditure of Rs 1 crore by the municipal corporation (MC) every year during monsoons on maintenance of sewerage and drains in Chandigarh, most of the road gullies in the northern sectors were found to be blocked during an HT reality check on Thursday.

A blocked road gully in Sector 11, Chandigarh, on Thursday. (HT photo)

When contacted, MC superintending engineer NP Sharma said, “I will get it checked and will get it cleaned if required.” Whereas, the MC public health department has assured that the work of cleaning them will finish by July 20. Independent councillor Gurcharan Dass Kala said, “Parts of the city getting submerged in knee-deep water was witnessed during the recent rains.

Low-lying stretches of the Industrial Area near the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) workshop should be cleared in advance as people are forced to face tough time in commuting through the waterlogged roads in the area.” “Despite having a huge budget, the cleaning work has not been fast-tracked. It is quite surprising,” he added.

Meanwhile, a senior MC official said, “Every year, the MC hires around 100 workers during monsoons and spends Rs 1 crore on cleaning of around 30,000 road gullies and replacing manhole covers in the city.”