Meerut: With monsoon round the corner, choked and overflowing drains in the city have again raised questions about preparations made by municipal authorities to solve water woes. The problem is persistent. Every year, as soon as monsoon begins, issues related to water-logged roads, overflowing and block drains crop up. While Meerut Municipal Corporation (MMC) authorities claimed that 281 drains have been cleared and the city is monsoon ready, water-logging and overflowing drains after a few hours’ of rainfall in last week speaks otherwise.Kunwar Sen, municipal health officer, said, “We have cleaned all city drains once but it is a continuous process. Residents throw garbage into drains, blocking these.”Meerut has a total of 3,000 sanitary workers – 1,000 permanent and 2,000 temporary. The city has a total of 281 drains, which include 37 big and 98 smaller drains. There are also 146 very small drains – which cannot be cleaned using machines.Even as MMC officials claimed that drains were cleaned, an inspection carried out by TOI found that many of these outlets still remain chocked. Some of the major ones which were found to be blocked are located near Baccha Park, Begampul and Chaat bazaar.Gaurav Kumar, who lives near Baccha Park, said, “As soon as monsoon arrives, drains get blocked and filthy water overflows into the road. The dirty water enters our houses too. Despite repeated complaints and requests, these outlets are not cleaned before monsoon and the residents have to suffer.”Meanwhile, Sen said, “After the recent showers that took place last week, the areas prone to water-logging and needing special attention came to our notice. We have cleaned these drains again and special attention is being paid to continue clearing of drains as well as tackle with everyday waste.”

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