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Rain chokes Lucknow, top civic officials burn midnight oil
Lucknow faced severe water-logging and chaos after heavy rain, prompting officials to intensify efforts for long-term solutions and immediate cleanup.
Lucknow’s infrastructure was exposed once again and the claims of officials that areas prone to water-logging had been effectively dealt with, were laid bare, as Wednesday night’s torrential downpour plunged large parts of the city into chaos, with water-logging, road collapses, and choked drains sending not just citizens but even the civic authorities running for cover.
The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) ramped up its response from the Smart City war room. Led by additional municipal commissioner Namrata Singh, a high-level meeting was held on Thursday at the Smart City war room to intensify city-wide efforts for waterlogging resolution and sanitation.
“Repeated waterlogging in specific areas requires a permanent fix. The engineering department has been tasked with developing targeted, long-term solutions for such hotspots,” said Singh, while also stressing the need for rapid garbage removal during rains to prevent potential health hazards.
Divisional commissioner Roshan Jacob and municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar hit the streets at 11 PM, inspecting areas like Vidhan Sabha, Civil Hospital, Jankipuram, Indira Nagar, and River Bank Colony.
The midnight sortie underlined the scale of urban disruption and the city administration’s reactive scramble to regain control.
During the inspections, Jacob issued directions to municipal officials, saying, “No garbage should be left open on roads. Such waste tends to disperse and choke drains, besides intensive cleaning of drains and sewers, along with fogging and anti-larval spraying to prevent vector-borne diseases after the water is cleaned.”
To mitigate flooding, she directed that suction and pumping machines be deployed promptly in affected zones.
Workforce mobilised
Municipal teams were deployed across the city overnight. Pumping sets were installed in more than 100 locations like markets, intersections, hospitals, and residential areas to drain out stagnant water.
The engineering department was specifically instructed to keep all pumping stations operational and dispatch mobile pumping units where needed.
Damage response
Municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar also went to Aliganj along with the general manager of Jal Kal, Kuldeep Singh, and other senior officers, where road subsidence took place in front of Radhe Lal Sweets. The area was immediately barricaded, and repair work began.
He also inspected Zone 8 sectors N of Ashiana, sector H, I, L of LDA colony where water was carried to the Qila Muhammadi drain after installing heavy pumps.
Kumar said, “I have already requested residents to report incidents of waterlogging via the toll-free number, 1533, and refrain from dumping waste into drains. Waterlogging is not just an inconvenience—it’s a health hazard. We’re doing everything possible to manage the situation, but citizen cooperation is critical.”
