: Tall claims made by the Ludhiana municipal corporation (MC) regarding monsoon preparedness were washed away by an hour-long spell of heavy rainfall on Wednesday.
Clogged and overflowing sewers led to a flood-like situation in the city.
From low-lying areas along the Buddha nullah to the posh areas of the city, the issue of waterlogging, lack of proper drainage of the rainwater and reverse flow from the sewers was reported from almost every part of the city.
The arterial roads, including Old GT Road, Chandigarh Road, Pakhowal Road, Ferozepur Road Ghumar Mandi, Mall Road, Link Road between Samrala Chowk to Bus stand, Dugri Road, old GT Road, Mall Road, Transport Nagar Road, Hambran Road, Atam Nagar, Dholewal Chowk and Gill Road, were flooded with sewer and rainwater. The life of residents came to a halt as it disrupted the traffic movement.
Traffic movement at the underpasses along the Sidhwan Canal at the Ferozepur road was blocked and water accumulated at other underpasses, including the Pakhowal RUB and Lodhi Club underpass, in the absence of a functional drainage system.
A resident of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Kapil Arora said that as the sewage water overflowed in the E block of the BRS, which is a low-lying area, the polluted water flowed into the recharge well created by the civic body. He added that technically the recharge well should have been created in the area which is at a higher level where there is no possibility of sewage water getting mixed into rainwater.
{{/usCountry}}A resident of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Kapil Arora said that as the sewage water overflowed in the E block of the BRS, which is a low-lying area, the polluted water flowed into the recharge well created by the civic body. He added that technically the recharge well should have been created in the area which is at a higher level where there is no possibility of sewage water getting mixed into rainwater.
{{/usCountry}}Several markets in the old city area, including Talab Bazaar, Chaura Bazaar, and Books Market Saban Bazaar were waterlogged causing a dip in the footfall of customers. The water also entered shops.
Road caves in Janta Nagar
A small portion of the road caved in the Janta Nagar area. Surjit Singh, a resident, said rainwater mixed with discharge from zinc units in the area accumulated on the street.
Residents of other areas, including Sarabha Nagar, Maya Nagar, and Gurdev Nagar, also faced problems as a major portion of the roads have been dug up for laying water pipes for canal-based water supply projects.
The flood control room established by the municipal corporation at Daresi received around 10 complaints of waterlogging on its helpline number. Ravinder Garg, superintending engineer, (operations and maintenance branch) said that teams of officials have been deployed to drain out the water accumulated on the roads and streets.
Buddha nullah overflows, floods roads
The residents of various colonies along the Buddha nullah, including New Chander Nagar, Kundanpuri, Aman Nagar and Peeru Banda Mohalla, spent the day in horror as Buddha nullah overflowed from several points. The sewage water from the flooded Buddha nullah flowed onto the roads and disconnected a part of the area. Several cars and two-wheelers got stuck in the polluted water as they tried to cross the road.
Manish Kumar, a resident of New Chander Nagar, said the rain started at 8.30 am and by 10.30 am, the nullah started overflowing from the same points it breaches every year. He said, “The civic body officials claimed that the banks have been fortified, yet the nullah has overflowed.”
He added that as the intensity and duration of the rain will increase in the coming days, the entire area lives under a sense of fear. He added that he is worried that the sewage water might lead to an epidemic outbreak in the area.
Another resident, Vishal said, “Civic body officials have delayed the landscaping project that was underway on the banks of the nullah. The banks had been dug up for the project due to which the water flowed on the road. The sewage water inundated the underpass near Chand Cinema.