MC readiness washed away in pre-monsoon burst

Although the heavy rain in the wee hours of Thursday brought relief from the scorching heat, it washed away the district administration and municipal corporation’s monsoon preparedness claims.

After the strong showers, the low-lying areas across the city were inundated with heavy waterlogging which persisted even hours after the rain stopped. The city recorded 39 mm rain on Thursday morning.

To add to the woes of locals, the power grid was also affected and half the city descended into darkness as the electricity was snapped. The electricity supply in the remaining areas was interrupted as well.

Chaura Bazar, Haibowal, Dholewal, Chand Cinema, Miller Ganj, Tajpur Road, Focal etc, are among the areas that remain flooded hours after the rain as the sewerage system was overwhelmed.

According to MC commissioner Sandeep Rishi, one of the main reasons behind the water logging is the lack of storm sewers. The city depended on the domestic sewers for draining out the rainwater, he said.

“We, like other unplanned cities across the state, don’t have separate storm sewers which are meant to quickly drain rainwater. We depend on domestic sewers. But these sewers are already draining the wastewater and when sudden downpours happen, the system gets overwhelmed. The sewers start pushing water back, which is how the waterlogging begins,” Rishi said. 

In the absence of dedicated storm showers, waterlogging, for at least a few hours after rains, was inevitable, he added.

The MC commissioner pointed at the lack of generators at the sewerage treatment plants (STP) as another reason that added to the waterlogging woes.

 “The sewers take the water to the STPs. After treatment, the water is released into the Buddha Nullah with disposal pumps. However, as there was no power or generators at many of the plants, these pumps could not work when the power supply was snapped,” Rishi further said.  

He claimed that these plans had rented generators, but would get them after July 1. “The engineers responsible should have anticipated the pre-monsoon showers and rented these a couple of weeks in advance. I will ensure that all STPs in low-lying areas have generator sets at the earliest,” he added.

Over the past two weeks, the district administration has conducted a series of meetings and assessments about monsoon preparedness. Even on Thursday, deputy commissioner Sakshi Sawhney held a coordination meeting with personnel from the army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

On the waterlogging in the city, Sawhney said, “There are issues with low-lying urban areas. MC commissioner and executive officers have been directed to check the reasons behind the waterlogging. The field staff is at work and motors have been deployed for draining. We will monitor the work of all agencies throughout the flood season.”

On the district’s plans to tackle similar problems during the upcoming monsoon, she said, “Our focus is on ensuring that the situation that occurred last year at the Buddha Nullah is not repeated. Several downstream villages were affected. The MC is taking special measures to remedy the situation.”

“There were heavy sheet-flow-related issues near Doraha and Chandigarh Road last year. We are undertaking cross-drainage works in the areas. We have identified vulnerable points and hamlets near the Sutlej river.”

On the lack of storm sewers, she said, “Since the storm and sewerage drainage system is the same, we directed that the sewerage system be cleaned and a roster has been made for the season. Personnel, machinery and motors are identified to ensure drainage from low-lying areas.”