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After waterlogging, Supriya Sule blames govt. for poor planning
Heavy rain caused severe flooding and traffic jams in Pune, leading to political blame over poor planning. PMC identified 115 chronic waterlogging spots to address.
After several areas of the city were inundated causing traffic jams amid heavy rain over the past two days, political parties began blaming each other for poor- planning and preparedness.
The city saw heavy rainfall on Saturday and in the evening on Sunday. Many roads and residential areas were flooded with knee-deep water in some places. The eastern parts of the city including Camp, Ghorpadi, Magarpatta, Wanowrie and Hadapsar were among the worst affected. Sadashiv Peth, Chandannagar and Kharadi, too, witnessed heavy rainfall, and an incident of treefall in Ghorpadi village caused a severe logjam.
On Sunday, an hour or two of intense rain turned many city roads into streams, obstructing traffic in the bargain. Several areas including Market Yard, Timber Market, Nagar Road, Khulewadi Phata, Pune Railway Station, M G Road, Camp, and Wadgaonsheri were waterlogged. Not only did citizens have to wade through knee-deep waters at Pune Railway Station, water entered the station premises, further inconveniencing passengers.
Pune’s annual average rainfall is 750 mm which has now reduced to 550 mm. However, the city is witnessing a new pattern of more intense rain during shorter spells, leading to flooding within a matter of hours. At the same time, the city has seen a significant increase in cementation, leaving fewer places for rainwater to drain.
On Monday, union minister of state for civil aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, said that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has identified 115 chronic waterlogging spots in the city and assured that the problem will be addressed on priority.
Mohol’s statement was followed by criticism from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and member of Parliament (MP) Supriya Sule, who blamed the government for poor planning in Pune.
“Under the name of development, there is unplanned growth taking place. While large funds are sanctioned through tenders, small projects that affect the common people are delayed. This is why rainwater has flooded people’s homes. Pune’s urban development is unplanned, and this highlights the mismanagement by the PMC,” Sule said.
Responding to Sule, Mohol said, “I have given instructions to the PMC administration to rectify the problem at 115 chronic waterlogging spots.”
Meanwhile, PMC commissioner Dr Rajendra Bhosale visited the Kondhwa area where waterlogging had occurred along with drainage department officials.
Santosh Tandale, chief superintendent of the drainage department, said, “The PMC commissioner visited the Kondhwa area. We have addressed all major waterlogging spots. However, due to heavy rainfall over a short period of time, Kondhwa experienced waterlogging. The problem was worsened by haphazard construction and narrow lanes which created obstacles for the rainwater to drain properly.”
Dinkar Gojare, superintendent engineer of the drainage department, said, “We visited Vadgaon Sheri. We found that the natural flow of the nullah was blocked. We cleared the nullah…”
