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Ludhiana:Shanties marooned as Buddha Nullah overflows, nearly 300 left homeless
Due to incessant rains on Wednesday and additional flow from upstream districts, the waterbody had filled up to capacity which caused the overflow
: At least 300 locals, including children and senior citizens residing in shanties near the Ludhiana Central Jail, ran for their lives after water overflowed from the Buddha Nullah in the late hours on Wednesday submerging their houses.
The area which hosts around 100 shanties is located along the Buddha Nullah on the Tajpur road. Due to incessant rains on Wednesday and additional flow from upstream districts, the waterbody had filled up to capacity which caused the overflow.
The locals started rushing out around 9 pm leaving behind their valuables after water started overflowing from two different points. No loss of life or human injury has been reported.
Around 300 locals spent the entire night on the road fearing further overflow. Such was the intensity of the flow that the efforts by the MC workers to fortify the overflowing points went in vain.
The authorities shifted the affected families to a government school in Moti Nagar in the morning where arrangements for their accommodation have been made. A majority of locals who reside in the shanties work as scrap dealers while a number of them work as tattoo makers and were living there for around two years.
Woes galore
Radha, who gave birth to a baby girl four days back, was among the locals who have been rendered homeless in the incident. Her brother Karan had a narrow escape after he almost drowned in the water as he went back to the shanty to collect their valuables.
Raseena, who is Karan’s mother, said, “We fear for the four-year-old baby who is yet to be named. We spent the night in the open sky as we saw our homes submerged.” She added that they cannot shift to the shelter home created by the authorities as they cannot leave their homes.
Several locals were not at their shanties when the water started flowing into their shanties. When they came back, they were taken aback.
Dharampal, who works as a scrap dealer, said, “First we took all the children to safer locations and collected cash, mobile phones and other valuables.” He said that living without amenities is extremely hard.
Bhupinder Singh, a local, said, “It is after several years that we are seeing that water has overflowed at this point in the initial days of the monsoon. The measures taken by the authorities have turned out to be inadequate.”
As the level of water in the nullah saw a rapid rise, heaps of wild grass stuck under the bridges over the nullah slowed down the flow of water. Authorities used cranes and JCB to remove the weeds on Tajpur Road, Sunder Nagar, Haibowal Bhamian Kalan, New Kundanpuri and Shivpuri. Areas on each side of the nullah on Tajpur Road were disconnected.
Sewer overflows in low-lying areas
Manholes and road gullies in low-lying areas of the city, including Shivpuri and Sunder Nagar, started overflowing as the Buddha Nullah was filled up to the brim leading to waterlogging in the area. Surinder Kumar, a shopkeeper near the Shivpuri bridge, said that manholes and road gallies in the area are reverse flowing since Wednesday. He added that people are locked in their homes as water is overflowing on the roads. He said that the situation is affecting the businesses in the area.
Authorities take stock of situation
Ludhiana East MLA Daljit Singh Bhola Grewal, deputy commissioner Surabhi Malik and Municipal Corporation commissioner Shena Aggarwal conducted joint inspections at different points of the nullah on Thursday.
They said that no breach was reported and the nullah just overflowed from one of the points. They added that MC has deployed poclain and JCB machines for regular cleaning of the nullah within the city limits. The executive engineer of the irrigation department has also been directed to remove the wild growth of plants from the entire stretch of the nullah in the district.
