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96.4mm rain turns Ludhiana into a water park
While traffic hassles were reported at many places, Ludhiana residents also complained of water entering their houses and shops after 96.4mm rain.
With 96.4mm rain recorded till the afternoon, several areas in the city were left inundated on Thursday, leading to traffic jams and other hassles for the residents.
In several areas, residents complained of water entering their homes and shops, washing away the municipal corporation’s tall claims of rain readiness.
Main roads, including the Ferozepur road, Model Town-Jawaddi road, Gill Road, Hambran Road, Dugri, BRS Nagar, underpass of the Southern bypass on Ferozepur road and the underpass near Lodhi club remained inundated.
The problem persisted even near the Dholewal Chowk and Clock Tower, where MC officials had claimed that corrective steps had been taken to prevent flooding. The civic body authorities had claimed that a storm sewer line had been installed near the Clock Tower and a choked internal drain has been reopened in Dholewal area to drain out the rainwater fast. Officials stated that the drain line was choked due to dumping of garbage by residents and shopkeepers.
Potholes on roads across the city added to the commuters’ misery.
Water enters shops, houses
In New Kundanpuri, Shivaji Nagar, Hargobind Nagar, Haibowal and other areas, water entered people’s homes and shops, prompting many to make desperate attempts to drain out the accumulated water. Many resorted to setting up temporary barricades at the entrance while others were seen using buckets and other utensils to drain the water.
Gurjeet Singh, a resident of New Kundanpuri, said, “After the water-level in Buddha Nullah increased, the sewer lines in adjoining areas got choked and rainwater mixed with sewage entered our houses. We saved our furniture and other belongings, but could not stop the sewer water from entering our house.”
The situation was no better in city markets, especially those situated in old city areas. Heavy waterlogging was seen in Talab Bazar, Gur Mandi, Chaura Bazar, Gill road and other areas.
Gurdeep Singh, a shopkeeper in Talab Bazar, said, “It was difficult for us to even reach our shops in the morning due to waterlogging. Authorities claim to be turning the city into a smart city, but they are not able to find a solution to even the most basic problems here.”
Waterlogging was witnessed even near the deputy commissioner’s residence in Rakh Bagh. What was more embarrassing, however, was that even the roads outside the municipal corporation’s own offices in Sarabha Nagar, Gill Road and Mata Rani Chowk were inundated.
A small portion of road caved-in near the residence of former mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria in Dugri Phase 2. As per MC officials, the incident was reported due to sewer line leak and field staff was deputed to repair the damaged portion.
Mayor, Ashu oversee ops
While municipal corporation (MC) officials remained on their toes to expedite the work of draining out accumulated water, mayor Balkar Sandhu and MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu moved around the city to oversee the work. Mayor Sandhu said water accumulation took place due to heavy rainfall and the drain lines got choked due to dumping of garbage and plastic material by residents. Mayor Sandhu said if the weather remains clear after Friday, the hot mix plant will be made operational to repair the pothole-ridden city roads at the earliest.
Residents take sarcastic dig on social media:
Furious residents meanwhile took to social media to lash out at the civic body and other elected representatives for their failure to rein in on the problem of waterlogging. Many residents posted videos and pictures of waterlogging and potholed roads.
Buddha Nullah overflows, sewer water enters fields, homes
The Buddha Nullah overflowed from at least three points near Peeru Banda area in Salem Tabri, leading to sewer water entering the adjoining fields. Residents said that the civic body had reduced the height of the embankments around the nullah on New Kundanpuri side for road construction, which is why the nullah overflowed. Due to this, waterlogging was witnessed in New Kundanpuri, Upkar Nagar, Chander Nagar among other areas. Residents said they suspect that the water-level may have also increased as the authorities release 100 cusecs of water in the nullah under the project to reduce pollution. MC officials, however, stated the process of releasing water was stopped on Wednesday in anticipation of rain. MC superintending engineer Rajinder Singh said teams were deployed around the nullah to keep tabs on the situation.
Power outages add to residents woes in various parts
Amid the downpour and waterlogging, several parts of the city, including BRS Nagar, Nehru Nagar, Sant Isher Singh Nagar, Model Town, Haibowal and Janta Nagar, experienced power cuts. In some parts, there were scheduled cuts due to maintenance work by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited.
Ritu Raj, junior engineer, Janta Nagar, said, “We did not receive many complaints today. However, usually, electricity supply gets affected during rains due to sparking issues and other fault in cables.”
In Bawa Colony, Vishal Colony, Vishal Nagar, Pink City, Shimla Colony, Gagandeep Colony, Om Vihar, Kakowal village, Dhir Colony, New Basant Vihar, Grewal Estate, Noorwala village, Dream City Colony, Nanaksar gurudwara, Ganpati Colony, Star Colony, Sujatwala road, Jamalpurlaili road, Kasabad road and adjoining areas, an eight hour-cut from 10am to 6pm was experienced.
Scheduled cuts were observed in Hawas village, Jeewanpur, Mangli, Boothgarh, Rour, Sasrali Colony and adjoining areas from 10 am to 4 pm.
In Chander Lok Colony, Indera Colony, Baldev Nagar, Krishana Colony, Gehelwal, Vardhman Nagar, Ekta Colony, Model Colony, Amrjeet Colony, Jaspal Colony , Anand Vihar Colony, Jagirpur, Utam Colony, industry on Bajra road and adjoining areas from 11 am to 3 pm.
