OPEN HOUSE SAFE DRIVING DURING RAINS Augmentation of drainage system, periodical cleaning of rain/stormwater drains, making officials accountable can help The monsoon season has arrived, but the drainage system is still poor. The same problem is repeated every year, but the lazy Municipal Corporation has not taken any measures. Hassle-free driving conditions must be provided to residents. As construction of roads started during monsoons these could not be competed, which has caused waterlogging and made it difficult to drive. Roads should be built in favourable weather conditions. Drainage system should be repaired and potholes filled before the onset of monsoons. Tiles around trees should be removed because they weaken the grip of roots, which uproots trees during heavy rain and strong winds. Trees must be pruned as branches often fall and injure people. S Gulati, Chandigarh Officials mustsort out issues The MC authorities in the tricity have never tried to understand difficulties faced by residents during rain. As such they never bothered to sort out issues like waterlogging before the monsoon comes. Officials concerned of the MC must shoulder their responsibilities and do the best to ensure that rainwater does not enter homes and offices and people drive comfortably on the tricity roads. Balbir Singh Batra, Mohali Waterlogging has made a dent at some places in the city. The MC should employ more staff to keep the drainage system clean and use water pumps to drain out water wherever necessary. The general public should not stand near trees and poles. During heavy rainfall vehicle drivers face poor visibility hence they should drive at a slow speed. They must ensure that wipers, brakes and electrical system of their vehicles are in order. While driving through deep water keep revving the engine so that water does not enter the exhaust system. Harish Kapur, Chandigarh Improve underground water channels The people in the tricity have to confront such a predicament each monsoon owing to poor maintenance of drains and lack of underground rainwater channels. The capacity of the underground drainage system in the low-lying areas is insufficient to drain rainwater accumulated on main roads. Water can be drained with big pumps. Regular maintenance, clearance and augmentation is required to enhance capacity of rainwater channels and ensure minimal waterlogging in the tricity with the onset of monsoons. The tricity MCs should identify waterlogging spots on main roads and workout solutions for residents. Albeit, the Administration of the tricity is doing its best to provide hassle-free movement during the monsoon, residents have yet to witness results. On the safer side, the traffic police should guide the public not to follow inundated roads and take alternative routes. Bhupinder S Sealopal, Mohali Mercury oscillating at 40°C and above brought prayers on the lips of people for rain. Well the monsoon did strike and the very first downpour brought miseries in the tricity. This exposed the preparedness of the civic authorities to combat the challenge. Residents are a worried lot as they have yet to face peak onslaught of the monsoon. The geography of City Beautiful facilitates drainage through N and Sukhna choes and Patiala ki Rao. Unplanned urbanisation and encroachments in the catchment of natural rivulets have reduced their carrying capacity thus spilling water in the residential areas. Besides, the drainage system network has also outlived its efficacy with unprecedented population increase and poor maintenance of road gullies and stormwater drains. As flooding in the tricity has become a yearly feature, the authorities need to take a call and ensure de-silting of choe beds and de-weeding of choe slopes to increase the carrying capacity. There is also need to undertake detailed survey to identify the perpetual flooding areas for priority solution. Existing drainage pipes must be replaced with larger dia pipes keeping in view the futuristic growth. The MCs must ensure maintenance before the onset of monsoons. SS Arora, Mohali Population has increased manifold Waterlogging on roads, streets and houses in the tricity after first showers put commuters and residents to lot of inconvenience. It has exposed lack of preparedness of the MCs to face such situations. The MCs stand on the existing stormwater/sewerage system being capable of accommodating rainwater upto 25mm beyond which the system starts overflowing and creates waterlogging does not hold the ground. Knowing well that the population has increased manifold, but no efforts have been made to increase capacity of the existing drainage system. The tricity MCs must increase capacity of storm/sewerage system and keep it free from all obstructions. AS Ahuja, Chandigarh It is time to keep your umbrella handy as monsoon has arrived. We have found how prepared the tricity authorities are to prevent roads turning into rivers. The first monsoon showers left tricity waterlogged. In most areas of the tricity the existing drainage system could not bear the load of gushing water. Some road gullies are choked with wild growth and others with garbage and plastic. A few minutes rain throws life out of gear in the tricity. In the low lying areas water enters houses. Till now, rain has spelled misery at Sector 17, 19 and 21 in Panchkula. Same is the fate of residents in Mohali and Chandigarh. Tall claims of the MC of having cleaned stromwater drainage system have fallen flat. Poor drainage system leads to waterlogging. Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula It is just beginning of rains and we are already facing the usual waterlogging and flooding of areas in and around the tricity. There is traffic chaos, sanitation problems and loss of property and life due to collapse of weak structures. Year after year monsoons cause havoc just because we do not adequately plan for it. The authorities need to take stock of sectors, which are prone to waterlogging, clean blocked drains, check manholes and identify dangerous structures. Whenever required the poor people in the slums should be relocated. A drill must be conducted to remove fallen trees from roads and repair snapped electric wires on priority. Additional traffic police and recovery resources must be mobilised to remove vehicles stuck in rainwater. Also, if rainwater is channelised correctly then there will be no shortage of drinking water in the city. It will recharge fast depleting groundwater and can be stored for use by all. Madhu R D Singh, Ambala Cantt Waterloggingstill hurts The Chandigarh MC was prepared to tackle waterlogging on roads. So far, the normal scenes of traffic jams everywhere are not being witnessed as compared to last year. But this is beginning of monsoon and coming days will prove the efficiency of system. Areas adjoining roads are waterlogged as their level has been raised due to re-carpeting. Remedial measures are required to clear rainwater speedily. Punchkula and Mohali are lagging behind, but let’s hope that things will improve in the coming times. Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Chandigarh Heavy monsoon rains and resultant floods have been impacting normal human life in the tricity year after year. Apart from loss of human life and damage to property both individual and government, the scars on the human mind take years to erase. This year too the people on the street have been the worst sufferers. One wonders where is governance in this setup? Our elected representatives/councillors are no where to be seen at this time of misery. The government functionaries at the state and national level are also getting fat pay cheques. But who is responsible to govern/lead the tricity? The Meteorological Department has been issuing timely advisories of heavy rains/thunderstorms for the tricity. It’s high time we come up with practical solutions to end this yearly problem. Make officials accountable for the lapses if any on their part. Set up a separate help desk to counter the natural problem. Public can inform on this number about waterlogging/fallen trees, road damage and traffic snarls. The MC teams can then redress the problem. Prior information on mobiles can make the flow of traffic smooth. As of now, everyone on the road is made to fend for himself/herself. Plan and execute to stop damage to property and human life. Dr Rajeev Kumar, Chandigarh The respective MCs of the tricity have no disaster management system in place to tackle monsoon-related issues. This is clearly illustrated by the havoc created during the last few days. The non-maintenance of road gullies and stormwater drains, unfilled potholes, lack of dewatering pumping systems, shortage of manpower, flooded roads and residential areas have all had a cumulative effect in creating apathy and misery for the population. It seems that the MCs, HUDA, PUDA and other agencies are waiting for some major mishap to happen. Streets in Zirakpur turn into streams, which leads to traffic jams and clogged roads. Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali are no better as there is lack of planning and disaster management, which puts lives of residents and commuters at risk. The snapping of electricity lines due to falling trees and branches further inconveniences residents, who face long-hour power outages. The tricity MCs do not spend on infrastructure and maintenance, which leads to chaos year after year. Rajiv Boolchand Jain, Zirakpur Safeguard interests of commuters The Municipal Corporation authorities in the tricity have not taken adequate measures to prevent waterlogging on roads during rains, which makes driving risky and sometimes results in the loss of life and property. Various incidents were reported from the tricity during the first monsoon showers, which is pitiable. The vulnerable areas must be identified and necessary precautions taken to prevent any untoward incident. Some concrete action plan has to be chalked out on a war footing and implemented in a true letter and spirit to safeguard the interests of residents driving in rain. Rajender Kumar Garg, Zirakpur MCs in the tricity have done nothing to welcome monsoons and provide residents hassle-free driving during rain. Repeated choking of drainage system and public hue and cry stands ignored. Guilty officials must be punished severely. Decade-old drainage system has become obsolete. Size of pipes has to be increased to adjust increased flow of rainwater. Yearly pre-monsoon drainage cleaning exercise should definitely undertaken. MPS Chadha, Mohali Nothing haschanged at all Had the MCs of the tricity area done enough, there would not have been waterlogging on any road. Every road has knee-deep water when it rains. And due to choked gullies, rainwater remains on roads for hours’ altogether. I am living in Chandigarh since 1970 and witnessing this scene every year. Nothing has changed at all. We call Chandigarh, City Besutiful. But during rains, it becomes the City Ugly. Shame. RK Kapoor, Chandigarh Stakeholders needto be sensitised When heavens open up generously, all hell gets let loose on the tricity roads. Even residential and commercial areas are flooded to the detriment of commuters and damages roads. Heavy rains are inevitable but the municipal authorities can surely mitigate public woes. They are found wanting in proper upkeep of roadside gullies and concrete mesh on gutters. Broken/missing mesh allows plastic and other waste into drains choking these at places. Only water should be allowed to enter stormwater drains. Over the years capacity of stormwater drains gets reduced with deposits of silt and vegetation, which need regular cleaning. Villages dotting different sectors and peripheral areas warrant special efforts to check waste disposal into the drainage system. All stakeholders need to be sensitised to be the change that they want in others and in the system. Lalit Bharadwaj, Panchkula Collective efforts required Prior to monsoon the Municipal Corporation authorities can only ensure that drainage system is clear, but due to careless attitude of the people, who usually throw plastic and other waste in the open drains, waterlogging problem occurs during heavy rainfall. It can be overcome with collective efforts of the MC authorities and the public. With increase in population and urbanisation the authorities must upgrade drainange system. Rainwater harvesting system should be installed at various levels. Awareness campaigns must be launched to make people aware of proper waste disposal. Ghaninder Khanna, Zirakpur We cannot blame the Municipal Corporation everytime. We need to understand that employees working in the MC are also humans like us. Though they try their level best to stop waterlogging, then also sometimes there is more rainfall in less time, which leads to waterlogging. It’s duty of residents to keep drains in and around their houses clean. We must make sure not to throw garbage in drains, which leads to blocking and waterlogging during the rainy season. In Canada people are instructed to clean their passages and as well as the area around their houses in case of snowfall. If they don’t do it, they are fined. This type of practice can be adopted by the MC to force people to keep drains clean. We need to understand that only joint efforts by city dwellers and the MC can only bring our City Beautiful out of the waterlogging problem. Bir Devinder Singh Bedi, Chandigarh No advance arrangements It is true that a stitch in time saves nine. The monsoon has arrived in the tricity. The first monsoon showers led to waterlogging on the roads in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula (tricity). The Municipal Corporation authorities have not made sufficient arrangements in advance. Before the monsoon, all roads and roundabouts should be constructed and repaired properly. All rainwater drains and gutters should be cleaned in time. Heaps of waste polythene should be removed from near gutters and rainwater drains. Big drains should be constructed near roundabouts. Rainwater should be recycled. Sumesh Kumar Badhwar, Mohali The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation confirms readiness of drainage system before monsoon every year, but waterlogging and road blockages can be seen during pre-monsoon showers. The main reason for the blockage of drainage system is dry leaves and polythene litter. Poor control over the use of banned polythene bags, collection of door-to-door garbage and the mindset of society, which litters around is another cause. The municipal counsellors must ensure cleanliness in their wards along with the official staff before the monsoon season. Waterlogging of roads causes traffic jams and accidents. Officials and the MC should also be made accountable for the cleanliness. Suitable action is needed to avoid such happenings. Wg Cdr Jasbir Minhas (retd), Mohali Road gullies and rainwater pipelines are not cleaned properly before the onset of rainy season. Corruption and non-accountability are the root cause. There is lack of supervision in cleanliness jobs. Fake bills are submitted and passed for payment. If the responsibility of officials concerned is fixed for any lapse in their respective areas, the performance will increase at reduced cost of governance. Linking of salaries to performance will solve many problems in the working of the civic bodies. KC Rana, Chandigarh Every year, the first rain becomes a pain in the neck of residents of the tricity. The municipal authorities of the tricity have to clean chocked drainage system. Though no arrangements are fool-proof if there is a heavy down pour, if timely action is taken the situation does not go out of control. In old times, during heavy downpour, women used to put ‘tawa’ (iron griddle) upside down in the open place to pray to Rain God to stop raining. The world has changed and so has the Rain God. Rainwater harvesting borewells must be installed so that water drains faster. The traffic police should be deployed at waterlogging spots during rains to divert commuters and save them from getting trapped in deep water. Rainwater must be used to rejuvenate the depleting ground water table. Capt Amar Jeet Kumar (retd), Mohali The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation having already failed in providing basic amenities like clean and green city, removing stray dog menace, encroachments on public land, car parking and 24x7 water and electricity is heading for another failure as roads and lanes are waterlogged after a brief spell of rain. A sample of its pitiable condition of preparedness was witnessed by residents on July 2, 2019, when the city welcomed its first showers of the belated monsoons this year. A couple of hours good rain ended up in many low lying roads and lanes just because the drainage system still remains blocked. The garage lanes of Cat I, II and III of the Modern Housing Complex, Mani Majra, were flooded as it happens every year. The design flaw was brought to the notice of every Chief Engineer and Commissioner by the RWA team, but a solution to this misery, though discussed several times, is not in sight. God save this MC and its worthy engineers. SC Luthra, Chandigarh There is no doubt that the first couple of pre-monsoon rains in the tricity last week brought some relief from scorching heat, but at the same time, it once again exposed the lack of preparedness on the part of MC authorities concerned, which caused havoc in the region. Roads cave in, water entering residential and commercial areas and power cuts inconvenienced the public, including daily commuters within the tricity and those from satellite towns of Kharar, Zirakpur or Dera Bassi. There is no improvement in the drainage infrastructure or rainwater harvesting provisioning or strengthening of the road network. Even Chandigarh, which claims to be Smart City, was seen struggling with rainwater. Lot of damage to roads and houses was seen in the City Beautiful too. Why the MC authorities can’t get fully prepared by cleaning all stormwater drains well in advance. Rather, rains should be a cleaned periodically. Unless responsibility of officials is fixed, India’s infamous ‘chalta hai’ attitude will prevail. Negligence by private enterprises is met with tough crackdowns, which include suspension of operating licences and slapping of criminal cases in the aftermath of tragedies. However, public servants get away in similar situations when there is no reason to spare them. Sanjay Chopra, Mohali The MC is well prepared for the monsoon. Out of 32,000 road gullies 30,000 were cleaned. Additional gullies were provided at various places. Sukhna and N Choes were cleaned. Teams of officials check waterlogging in the city. — The Municipal Corporation is determined to provide hassle-free movement for commuters during the rainy season. So far, not much inconvenience has been felt by residents. I have directed officials to prevent waterlogging in the city. — RajeshKalia, Mayor, Chandigarh Waterlogging during monsoons has proved that the Municipal Corporation has failed to clean all road gullies in time. One can see waterlogging at various places in the UT. This shows lack of will on the part of the MC to take up the issue seriously. —Baljinder Bittu, president, FOSWAC We are prepared for the monsoon. Some complaints of waterlogging have been received, but these are being redressed immediately. I assure all residents that there will be no waterlogging in our area this monsoon. —Kulwant Singh, Mayor, Mohali GMADA and the MC have spent lakhs to get opinion of experts, including PEC, Chandigarh, to solve waterlogging issue. The MC has not implemented recommendations of these agencies. Their claim of issue being solved is a lie. —Kuljit Bedi, MC Councillor, Mohali QUESTION In the past one week, the tricity witnessed two incidents of trees falling on vehicles. A poor auto driver lost his life in one such incident. Saving trees is important for environment, but can this be at the cost of human lives? The precarious condition of many trees in the tricity poses a risk to people. What do you think the government can do to solve this problem?

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