GMDA finds 48 sewer lines illegally connected to surface drains, seeks police action

During a two-day stormwater drain cleaning drive, which began on Thursday, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) found as many as 48 points where

During a two-day stormwater drain cleaning drive, which began on Thursday, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) found as many as 48 points where sewer lines from the neighbouring residential and commercial establishments have been connected to the surface drains illegally.

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The drive was conducted in the city along all the master roads. The GMDA disconnected 24 out of the 48 illegal connections during the drive itself. Later, the authority wrote letters to the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) to trace the source of these 48 lines and initiate action accordingly.

The drive came in the backdrop of a survey by a GMDA team last week, in which the team found flooding in the stormwater drains in sectors such as 37, 23, 44, 45, 47, 51, 57, Udyog Vihar, Pace City and other areas.

Pradeep Kumar, GMDA chief engineer, said, “Stormwater drains should not carry water at all unless there is flooding due to rains. The poor quality of water, along with foul smell and holes connected through sewer lines indicated that illegal sewer connections have been established from residential and commercial areas of the city.”

Soon after the nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25, VS Kundu, CEO, GMDA, had issued instructions to field officials engaged in master services, such as water supply and sewers, to do regular disinfection of treatment plants, machines, sewer drains, cleanliness, desilting and adhere to all the requisite Covid-19 guidelines.

Kumar said, “Since Covid-19 cases are on the rise, we are taking utmost care to keep drains clean and in a hygienic condition, as per the top officials’ instructions. Drains belong to us, but the source of sewer lines belong to MCG and HSIIDC areas. We have written to them to disconnect them and initiate police action. So far, 24 lines have been disconnected.”

GMDA also held a meeting with the officials of MCG and HSIIDC on Saturday. Satyawan Singh, the MCG superintending engineer, said, “We are disconnecting these lines and will also initiate police action against the offenders after we trace their source.”