Bareilly: The short spell of rain last week has once again exposed failure on the part of the Bareilly Municipal Corporation (BMC) to carry out desilting of drains across the city. While BMC has claimed to have desilted 70% of drains across the city, local residents continue to face problems due to watelogging in different parts of the city.The localities affected by waterlogging include Nekpur-Kunwarpur, Sikhlapur, City Station, Old City, Kargaina, Chak Mahmood, Izzat Nagar-Shikarpur Chaudhry and Jagatpur. People in these localities either have to hop and skip over waterlogged spots or have to gingerly walk over slushy mess. Residents allege that drains continue to be clogged as the civic authorities are yet to initiate desilting process.Irked by the slushy roads in the locality, Prashant Gautam, a resident of Nekpur's Kunwarpur area, said, “When it rained last week, several roads and bylanes were completely waterlogged. Later, the roads became slushy as pools of stagnant water were formed in the area. This is both annoying and risky, especially for two-wheeler riders who can slip and fall anytime.”Another local resident, Subodh Mishra, who owns a shop at Jagatpur, said, “Waterlogging is a common phenomenon in the area whenever it rains, irrespective of the duration of the rainfall. Several complaints with the civic authorities in this connection have been lodged in the past but the problem persists. Every year, authorities claim to have completed the desilting exercise of the drains and manholes ahead of monsoon but their tall claims are exposed as soon as it rains, leaving behind several city localities waterlogged.”The situation is no different near Chak Mahmood locality, where the rainwater has turned the roads into muddy and slippery mess. “It has been more than a week that it rained in the city. However, several pockets continue to be submerged, possibly because the drains have not been properly desilted. This shows that the authorities concerned have not taken appropriate measures during monsoon and it is expected that the situation will worsen with more rain,” said Aisha Tahir, a homemaker and resident of the area.Speaking with TOI, city health officer Ashok Kumar said, “Of the total 108 big and small drains across the city, BMC recently completed desilting of 70% of the drains and has been constantly working to ensure that the exercise is consistent. Besides, waterlogging is less this year as against the previous years. Those city areas that have been facing problems of waterlogging will soon be unclogged while we will also continue with desilting of drains over the next 10-15 days.”

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