- Bhonpuram Khabari, Rudrapur: Recent rains in the city might have brought some relief from the scorching heat but the authorities at the Rudrapur Municipal Corporation (RMC) were not able to monitor the flow in rainwater drains and sewer lines during the rains over the past three months. Around 80 percent of the city’s population suffered during rains as several areas get submerged due to poor drainage systems. Even on Friday, the overnight rains in the city left it waterlogged. The only river in the city, the Kalyani is gushing and the colonies on its banks are in great peril.
President of the city traders’ union, Sanjay Juneja claimed that business in the city was hit worst when the streets of the city get waterlogged. “It has been over a year since the region of Terai faced one of the worst floods in history that brought the region and the lives of all those in it to a complete standstill. The nonstop rains on October 18, 19, and 20 last year, struck horror for those who’d lived through saw floods that caused large-scale destruction to property in the city. But the civic authorities did not learn any lessons from that disaster. Every year, we have to wade through knee-deep water during monsoon. The main bazaar gets waterlogged. The authorities have failed to address the issue despite traders’ protests demanding the construction of an efficient drainage system in the main market”, Juneja added.“The spell of devastation last year, when property over 500 crores in the city was damaged, was not an act of God but the result of human negligence. The population of over three lakhs was affected. Even the incessant rains of September 17 and 18 this year gave the traders and the local residents reasons to worry. But the civic authorities were apathetic. Nothing has been done in the past year as if they wait for another devastation. The city has no master plan either for rainwater drains or the sewerage network. They should act on the master plans and implement them or else the city would be inundated not only during monsoon but every time it rains.”, said a social worker, Sushil Gava.Congress district president, Himanshu Gava said that the RMC spent over Rs Ten crores to make nalas in the main market area but it was merely an eyewash. “Maor Rampal Singh should stop dreaming of making the city like Indore. We would be thankful if the corporation provides us with the basic amenities. The city has no network of sewers, and in the core city area, the few constructed ones are in need of an overhaul. City’s only river Kalyani has not been cleaned even in a span of 9 years of BJP-led RMC. The slums either have no drain network or the work to build them is incomplete. There is a triple engine government in the city with MLA, MP, and the RMC Mayor, all from BJP but even after one year the bridges which collapsed during last year’s floods have not been rebuilt till date”, Gava further said.“This year, the RMC has decided to engage super suckers to clean the underground sewerage and drainage lines of most of the areas to tackle waterlogging”, said Harish Chaudhary, representative of the RMC Mayor Rampal Singh, in his absence. He said the issue would be resolved once the sewerage and water disposal system is set up. “The RMC is working in tandem with IIT Roorkee and the construction of the drainage system proposed will be initiated soon”, he said. However, Chaudhary whined that encroachments over the drains and the sewer lines are the major reason behind the waterlogging problem. “The rehriwalas and kiosks on the roadsides throw garbage on the roadside, blocking the drains. It takes hours to clear the road even after light showers thus throwing the life out of gear in the city”, he added.
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