Incessant rain, which continued through the night, left most areas in the city inundated, due to which commuters had to navigate waterlogged roads and long traffic jams on Friday morning.
Potholed roads exacerbated the commuters’ misery. Waterlogging was primarily seen at BRS Nagar, Model Town Extension, Dugri, Chaura Bazar, and Haibowal. Water also accumulated on the Model Town-Jawadi Road, Ferozepur Road, Chandigarh Road, Gill Road, Dholewal Chowk, and Dugri road and the underpasses on Ferozepur Road and Lodhi Club.
The situation outside the deputy commissioner’s residence near Rakh Bagh and at Malhar Road (which is being developed as a smart road) and the parking area outside the municipal corporation’s Zone C office was not any better.
Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Memorial Trust member ,Tribhuvan Thapar, said the area outside the freedom fighter’s ancestral house was flooded and that authorities had failed to resolve the issues despite multiple complaints.
“People have to wade through the accumulated water, which also breeds vectors,” said Thapar.
Paramjeet Singh, a resident of Sector-39, Chandigarh Road, said,”We had registered a complaint with the chief minister’s office also, but to no avail. It is difficult to step out of the house after a downpour and overflowing sewer lines stink up the area. Potholes, which cannot be seen due to the flooding, put commuters’ lives at risk.
{{/usCountry}}Paramjeet Singh, a resident of Sector-39, Chandigarh Road, said,”We had registered a complaint with the chief minister’s office also, but to no avail. It is difficult to step out of the house after a downpour and overflowing sewer lines stink up the area. Potholes, which cannot be seen due to the flooding, put commuters’ lives at risk.
{{/usCountry}}MC superintending engineer, Rajinder Singh, said, “Our staff was on the field and the accumulated water was drained out within in a few hours. Complaints regarding choked sewer lines will be resolved at the earliest.”
‘Newly developed Leisure Valley lacks sound drainage’
In absence of a sound drainage system, the recently developed Leisure Valley in Bhai Randhir Singh (BRS) Nagar was inundated after the downpour on Friday.
The Valley, which has become one of the favourite haunts of joggers, is in dire need of maintenance. A BRS Nagar resident, Gursharan Singh, said, “Creating a green belt was a good initiative and the number of people coming to the area for morning and evening walks was also increasing by the day. However, people are now avoiding the area as it is not being maintained and the drainage system is not up to the mark.”
Ludhiana Improvement Trust superintending Engineer , Buta Ram said that the contractor has been directed to clear the accumulated water. “Staff has already been deployed and the water will be drained out in soon . The contractor has also been directed to make concrete arrangements to avoid water logging in future as well.
Portion of Hambran Road caves in
A portion of Hambran Road, where interlocking tiles were installed by the LIT a few months ago, caved in after the incessant rain. The incident took place near the Kali Mata Temple and no accident was reported on the spot.
Buta Ram said that the field staff had been directed to inspect the site and take required steps to repair the portion. The reason behind the incident is not known so far.