The sinking feeling

IN the age of so-called smart cities, the term ‘urban flooding’ sounds almost like an oxymoron. After all, a smart city ought to have an efficient stormwater drainage system that can handle a few hours’ downpour, at the very least. On the contrary, flooded roads are a common sight during the monsoon in cities across the country, right from Delhi and Chandigarh in the north to Chennai and Bengaluru in the south. Gurugram, the Millennium City, has failed to solve this problem despite having spent more than Rs 100 crore on anti-waterlogging measures in the past three years. What else can you expect when nearly half of the drains are not cleaned before the onset of the rainy season? Incidentally, Gurugram is not part of the Centre’s Smart City Mission. When asked why, the Haryana CM had said in November 2022 that the state government wanted to make it the ‘smartest’ city and not just ‘smart’. Well, smart, smarter or smartest, the watery nightmare continues for Gurugram residents.

Stormwater drainage systems often don’t operate to their designed capacities because of poor maintenance; in some cases, the capacities have not been augmented despite the rapid pace of urbanisation. Encroachments and unplanned growth have worsened the situation. Adequate preparedness is half the battle won when it comes to flood control. However, high-intensity rainfall in a short duration invariably catches the municipal and urban development authorities off guard. And hapless citizens are left to sink or swim in waterlogged streets.

Apparently, funds are not an issue. Under AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation), 772 stormwater drainage projects worth Rs 2,140 crore have been completed in various states and union territories. Thousands of waterlogging points have been reportedly eliminated, yet the inevitable happens whenever it rains heavily. A lack of political and administrative will is reducing glitzy cities to hellholes. They must set their house in order sooner than later.