Open threat: Partially covered drain in Jhajjar village irks locals

Tribune News Service

Ravinder Saini

Jhajjar, April 21

A partially covered drain along a road leading to Palda village from Dubaldhan (Kirman) in the Beri sub-division here is causing a lot of inconvenience to locals.

‘Will cover accident-prone areas’

As per norms, only 70 per cent of such drains are covered. I have asked the villagers about accident prone areas so that they could be covered to prevent mishaps.Rs — Ajay Kumar, PWD SDO

The villagers claim that the open drain is leading to mishaps, apart from posing a health threat.

It’s not only commuters using the road who risk falling into the drain — recently, a cow fell into it and the villagers had to toil hard to rescue the animal. A cyclist also sustained injuries after falling into the drain. Several such incidents have been reported in the past.

“The drain along the road was built over six month ago and the contractor did not cover it properly. It has been left open at many places leading to mishaps. Moreover, the drain has also become a breeding ground for mosquitoes,” said Dharmendra, a villager.

He said despite repeated complaints to the district administration, the drain had not fully been covered, forcing the villagers to knock at the door of the CM window for prompt action into the matter.

Dharampal, another villager, said it seemed that the authorities were waiting for a major mishap to happen before resolving the matter.

Raj Kumar, husband of gram panchayat sarpanch Anita, said they had apprised the PWD officials of the issue and demanded that drain be covered properly.

PWD SDO Ajay Kumar said around 30 per cent of the drain area had been left open so that it could be cleaned properly. “As per the norms, only 70 per cent of such drains are covered. I have asked the villagers to let me know about specific points which are accident prone so that these could be covered to prevent mishaps,” he added.

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