Amid monsoon rains: Waterlogging, garbage woes plague Lucknow; locals slam LMC
HT reached out to additional municipal commissioner Namrata Singh, who oversees the Gomti Nagar and Aliganj zones, but she remained unavailable for comment despite multiple attempts.
With intermittent rainfall continuing throughout Sunday in the state capital, residents across several neighbourhoods in Lucknow are grappling with severe inconvenience caused by waterlogged roads, scattered garbage, and clogged drains. Locals allege that the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) is neglecting these issues, even as the rain persists.
Localities such as Vibhuti Khand, Vinrama Khand, areas near Engineering College, Aliganj, and Munshipuliya are among the worst affected. With each spell of rain, roads in these areas become flooded, and garbage dumped in open spaces is washed into the streets, posing serious health risks and obstructing movement.
“We can’t even walk properly. The garbage floats on the water and blocks entire lanes soon after it rains,” said Kaartikeya Pandey, a resident of Aliganj. “And when officials like the zonal in-charge or additional municipal commissioner don’t answer calls, who is left to listen to us?”
Despite clear directives from senior state government officials and municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar to prevent waterlogging and improve sanitation during the monsoon, residents claim that little action has been taken. Most complaints, they claim, go unanswered, and official visits are limited to paperwork with no visible impact.
HT reached out to additional municipal commissioner Namrata Singh, who oversees the Gomti Nagar and Aliganj zones, but she remained unavailable for comment despite multiple attempts.
Sunny Srivastava, a shopkeeper at Kisan Bazar, said the road is not cleaned regularly, leading to a buildup of waste.
“As soon as it rains, the accumulated garbage gets scattered all over the road,” he added.
Open dumping of waste remains unchecked in several parts of the city. During rainfall, this garbage clogs already poorly maintained drains, making waterlogging inevitable.
“This is not a one-day problem,” said Anita Srivastava, a school teacher from Munshipuliya. “We face this every monsoon. The drains are never cleaned properly, and garbage trucks don’t come regularly. It feels like no one is held accountable.”
Civic volunteers and local activists have also raised concerns over the lack of coordination among various departments of Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC). They demand immediate action and a dedicated helpline to respond to sanitation complaints during monsoon.
Residents fear that if the LMC continues to delay action, the situation will deteriorate further in the coming weeks as rainfall intensifies.
