Mohali: The heavy downpour on Thursday threw life out of gear in Mohali. Major roads, parks and low-lying peripheral villages got submerged into knee-deep water, exposing the preparedness of the municipal corporation. Failing to tackle the waterlogging problem, the MC has been at the receiving end for not foreseeing the waterlogging-prone points in the city and getting it rectified accordingly.Another major reason for waterlogging is the blocked stormwater clearance pipes. Kuldeep Singh, former architect of Gmada residing in Sector 71, said that, "The stormwater pipes in Mohali are of smaller diameter and with growing population fail to meet the discharge requirement and get flooded, resulting in backflow of water. This causes waterlogging. The stormwater drainage system is to be upgraded."Residents, however, feel that the MC and Gmada need a proper revamp to act well before the time for solving such civic issues.Gurdarshan Singh, a resident of Phase 3B1, said that, "Waterlogging during the rainy season is a decade-old problem and Mohali administration has lacked in acting well in time. It seems that they are in the habit of coming out on roads of their air-conditioned offices only when a mishap occurs."Many places where the road gullies were blocked could be seen in ankle-deep water. Most of the parks in Mohali were also submerged. The Mango Park in Phase 3, industrial area, green belt in Phase V, Community Park in Phase XI and the parking lot opposite the Gmada building are some of the places where water pools were seen.Residents of the affected areas said that this was an annual problem but no action had been taken by the MC so far. Major waterlogging could be seen on the airport road near the SCL, Phases 3B2, 4, 7, 8, 11, Sectors 68, 69, 70, Mohali village, Kumbran, industrial area, Phases II, VII and IX.Officials of both MC and Gmada claimed that they had performed their duties in tbhis regard but practically the problem persists. Meanwhile, massive traffic jams were witnessed during morning hours at Zirakpur crossing. The breakdown of vehicles due to waterlogging led to a bottleneck, leading to traffic jams. It got cleared after the police moved the stranded vehicles away from the middle of the road.

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