Two-day rain spell exposes poor drainage network in Faridabad

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, August 30

The rains in the past 48 hours have led to acute waterlogging and a choked sewage network in many parts of the city.

Many areas were submerged under one-three ft water, exposing the weak drainage infrastructure of the district, it is reported.

“Ours is among the residential sectors which were waterlogged by rainwater for several hours,’’ said former MLA and Sector-7 resident Yogesh Sharma.

A majority of residents were confined to their houses, and those travelling through waterlogged roads faced the risk of falling in drains or sewers, as many of these were uncovered, he added.

Another resident, Varun Sheokand, said sectors 8,9,10,11 and 12 remained badly affected for many hours due to the waterlogging on Thursday.

Residents had to brave the issue for over 24 hours without any immediate help from the authorities concerned, he added.

He alleged that the authorities had failed to provide a functional drainage or outlet system in most sectors and colonies of Faridabad.

“All underpasses, including the NHPC underpass, Mewla Maharajpur underpass and the Old Faridabad underpass connecting a National Highway with various parts of the city, got flooded and vehicles were stuck, as usual,” said Vishnu Goel, a resident of the NIT area.

While the issue had been taken up in every meeting of the district grievances committee for several years, no respite had come despite the presence of multiple agencies such as the Municipal Corporation, HSVP and the FMDA (Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority), all of which were headed by senior IAS officers, he added. SK Sharma, coordinator of Road Safety Organisation, an NGO, said open manholes and pits on the road had been flagged to prevent accidents.

The slow pace of repairs of damaged roads had been causing a lot of inconvenience to the commuters, he added.

Of the around 800-km network of sewage and drains in the city, almost half had been lying choked or damaged, according to sources in the civic body.

Instead of replacing the decades-old network, the authorities had been resorting to measures suiting vested interests, said a former civic official, on condition of anonymity.

An amount of Rs 10 crore is required each month for the maintenance of the city’s drainage system, and the shortage of funds has been affecting repairs, it is learnt.

Most of the 37 major and minor drains (nullahs) of the city have been choked, it is reported.

Municipal Corporation Additional Commissioner Gaurav Antil said the cleaning of drains was a regular exercise, and Executive Engineers of the civic body had been directed to ensure cleaning and upkeep of the drainage network of Faridabad.