Rainfall exposes unprepared Ghaziabad agencies

The city reported heavy waterlogging at Raj Nagar Extension, Indirapuram, Lal Kuan, Lohiya Nagar, Ghanta Ghar, Mohan Nagar crossing, and other places

Ghaziabad: Around three hours of rainfall on Tuesday morning in Ghaziabad left many roads and lanes inundated, exposing preparedness of the agencies, as locals faced commuting issues for hours once again. According to district rainfall distribution data from the India Meteorological Department, Ghaziabad district recorded actual rainfall of 1.5mm against the normal rainfall of 2.8mm on Tuesday.

Corporation officials claimed that their staff and teams were roped in at different waterlogging points since Tuesday morning. (Sakib Ali/HT Photos)

The city reported heavy waterlogging at Raj Nagar Extension, Indirapuram, Lal Kuan, Lohiya Nagar, Ghanta Ghar, Mohan Nagar crossing, and other places, prompting the Ghaziabad traffic police to send traffic alerts through the district administration.

Residents in Indirapuram pointed out heavy waterlogging in Niti Khand 1, Shakti Khand 2, and 3, besides other areas.

“Persistent waterlogging during heavy rainfall exposes the preparedness of the civic agency and also of the city, which seems unfit to tackle the monsoon season. The drainage system seems to have collapsed here. Many drains have been encroached upon with ramps construction, and the corporation is struggling to handle the township,” said Mohan Sangwan, resident of Shakti Khand in Indirapuram.

Residents in Sahibabad also complained of similar waterlogging.

“There was heavy waterlogging in C and D blocks of Lajpat Nagar which threw life out of gear. Corporation officials prefer to play the waiting game for the rain to get over and for the water to recede itself. A major drain here is not clean, and most parts of it are covered with ramps,” said Himanshu Sharma, ward 75 of Lakpat Nagar – 1.

Local commuters on the Delhi Meerut Road also sent videos of heavy waterlogging while corporation staff was seen flushing out water at the Lal Kuan intersection and also outside their camp office at Raj Nagar district center (RDC).

“Lal Kuan (on NH-9/GT Road) faces regular waterlogging whenever there is heavy rain. I travel daily for my work, and during waterlogging, there is a huge jam, and commuters have to wait for anything between 30-60 minutes to go through,” said RK Rai, resident of Mansarovar Park.

Ram Raja, executive engineer in the public works department, said, “Areas on NH-9, Lal Kuan, and the Delhi Meerut Road are handled by different agencies. Some of the persistent waterlogging points are due to low-lying areas and improper drainage and flushing systems.”

Corporation officials claimed that their staff and teams were roped in at different waterlogging points since Tuesday morning.

“We have about 55 different identified waterlogging-prone areas where teams are also sent, and there is installation of pumps at each site to flush out water. These 55 points have been identified based on their geographical conditions. Water was also flushed out from outside our camp office in RDC, as it is also one of the waterlogging points,” said KP Anand, general manager of the municipal corporation’s water works department.