Clean Noida drains before monsoon sets in: FONRWA to Noida authority

Due to clogged drains, rainwater accumulates and causes overflowing further leading to waterlogging on the sectors’ roads

NOIDA: The Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Association (FONRWA), representing 121 sectors of the city, has appealed to the Noida authority to carry out a cleaning exercise of small and big drains across Noida before the monsoon sets in.

Work of unclogging the drains is taken up when the rainy season sets in, the tenders are floated late leaving residents to face hardship, says FONRWA (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Due to clogged drains, rainwater accumulates and causes overflowing that further leads to waterlogging on the sectors’ roads, it urged on Friday.

In a letter addressed to chief executive officer (Noida authority) Lokesh M, the association has sought immediate measures before the rains in the city.

“In the absence of cleaning of drains, rainwater during monsoon gets accumulated, resulting in the overflowing of the drains. This further aggravates the problem as the roads in many sectors become waterlogged, giving a harrowing time to residents and commuters every year during the rainy season,” said KK Jain, general secretary (FONRWA) in the letter.

“To ensure that the problem does not arise this time around, we are appealing that the desilting exercise of the stormwater drains is carried out beforehand,” he stated.

The association said that the Noida authority has been appealed to issue necessary instructions to the departments concerned before time.

“It is seen every year that the work of unclogging the drains is taken up when the rainy season sets in. The tenders are floated late and thus, the works are delayed in the field. Due to this, residents have to face the hardships, and therefore, we have appealed that all preparations are taken up in advance to the situation of waterlogging is prevented,” said Youendra Sharma, president, FONRWA.

According to FONRWA, several places in Noida witness waterlogging issues every year in monsoon. Among the worst hit areas are Sector 23, 33, 34.

Clogged drains often trigger intense waterlogging in Sector 51 and adjacent locations, said Sanjeev Kumar, senior vice president, District Development Residents Welfare Association (DDRWA).

He said the big drain between Sector 52 metro station Sector 34 metro station, which was built in 2018, has never undergone cleaning even once.

“This drain is the most prominent one to face clogging as the local vendors keep on dumping trash inside, resulting in clogging it. We have taken up this issue with the authority in the past as well but to no avail,” he added.

Noida authority’s chief executive officer (CEO) Lokesh M told HT, cleaning of drains is a continuous process and he has been personally conducting inspections of various locations to take stock of the situation on ground.

“We already have an agency which is taking care of the cleaning of drains in Noida and the works are undergoing. Wherever the work is found not being done properly, a process of penalising the concerning will be initiated,” the CEO added.