Ludhiana | Monsoon preparedness: Choked internal drains in Old City areas blows lid off tall claims

Former councillor Parminder Mehta also submitted a complaint with the arthritis in the recent past stating that cleaning the road gullies or sewer lines won’t be of any use if the Talab Bazar drain is not cleaned properly as no proper flow of water into the drain will certainly result in water logging during the monsoon season in Ludhiana

At a time when the municipal corporation (MC) has been making tall claims regarding monsoon preparedness, choked internal drains in Old City areas and manholes covered with premix compounds are triggering fear among residents, who are suspecting acute water logging during the rainy season.

Choked internal drain in Old City areas in Ludhiana. Mayor Balkar Sandhu had earlier also directed the officials to clean the internal drain lines before monsoon hits the city. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

The Talab Bazar drain that merges into Buddha Nullah and moves through different Old City areas, including Books market, Akalgarh market, Old GT road, Bhadaur house, Damoria bridge among other areas, is lying choked at different points, but the authorities have failed to resolve the issue.

The MC had commenced the process to clean the nullah near Domoria bridge in the past, but no steps are being taken to clean the same at the previous points, including Bhadaur house, Naali mohalla etc.

Mayor Balkar Sandhu had also directed the officials to clean the internal drain lines before monsoon hits the city.

Despite repeated complaints, the civic body has failed to take corrective steps even when regular meetings are being conducted by the officials to avoid water logging during this monsoon season.

Former councillor Parminder Mehta also submitted a complaint with the arthritis in the recent past stating that cleaning the road gullies or sewer lines won’t be of any use if the Talab Bazar drain is not cleaned properly as no proper flow of water into the drain will certainly result in water logging.

Mehta had also complained against covering of manholes with premix. “ Most of the manhole covers in Old City areas, including Chaura Bazar, Daresi etc have been covered with premix by the contractors in a process to reconstruct the roads. Forget cleaning, the MC will not only be able to locate these manholes after waterlogging takes place in these areas. How will the MC clean these lines during the rainy season? The MC should take corrective steps before monsoon hits the city and the Talab bazar drain should also be cleaned at the earliest,” he said.

One of the shopkeepers in Chaura Bazar area, Gurcharan Singh said, “We have never seen the MC cleaning the Talab Bazar drain and many encroachments have also been done by shopkeepers over the drain in different areas. The MC should focus on providing relief to residents from waterlogging, which takes a toll on the residents every year.”