E-Paper
PMC will be monsoon-ready by June: Mayor
Both the municipal commissioner and mayor called a review meeting with all civic officials to discuss Thursday’s flash floods. The commissioner instructed all regional ward officers to spend two hours daily in visiting various sites for inspection of ongoing works.
PUNE:
Amid the criticism over Thursday’s flash floods bringing Pune to a standstill, mayor Manjusha Nagpure and municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram have promised to get the city monsoon-ready by June this year.
Both the municipal commissioner and mayor called a review meeting with all civic officials to discuss Thursday’s flash floods. The commissioner instructed all regional ward officers to spend two hours daily in visiting various sites for inspection of ongoing works.
Ram said, “It is natural that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is being criticised for the recent waterlogging in the city. But even top global cities such as Singapore or Sydney cannot manage flash floods. If there is more than 100 mm of rain, it is but natural that there will be some inconvenience. However, our efforts should focus on early drainage of floodwaters.”
“We found that there are many errors. Our stormwater lines get clogged because plastic enters them. Garbage is dumped at many places. Naturally, the water flow decreases,” he said.
Whereas Nagpure said, “We have instructed all departments to start work from Monday. For the last few years, Pune has been experiencing monsoons for nearly six months. The city administration must prepare. The PMC should give compensation to those who lost their properties in Thursday’s flash floods.”
Ram further said, “Considering the city’s financial situation, it is not necessary to build cement-concrete roads everywhere, especially when the cost of these roads is almost double that of tar roads. We will construct tar roads in the internal areas and go for cement-concrete roads only where necessary.”
Refuting allegations that municipal officials were not out on the roads during Thursday’s flash floods, Ram said, “I checked. Our staff and officers were on the roads in different parts of the city.” Some of the staff members worked late into the night to clear the water, he added.
“It is true that not all staff are sincere and this applies everywhere. But 70% of our staff work hard while 30% avoid work. However, we will ensure that everyone works during such crises,” Ram said.
Pune municipal commissioner Ram said, “It is good that the flash floods took place in April only. We need to know the areas where waterlogging occurs. The PMC has already identified 122 such spots. We will ensure that all such spots prone to flooding are cleared this rainy season.”
Ram further said that funds have been allotted to the garden department and the ward offices to trim the trees. While a provision of ₹10 lakh has already been made for each ward, it has now been decided to allot additional funds to wards with higher number of trees; he said.
