Officials blame the drainage system; residents ask: is this a smart city?

[ad_1]

NewsCitiesChandigarhOfficials blame drainage system; residents ask: is this a smart city? Chandigarh civic body said all ravines in Chandigarh city were cleared at least once from March 16 to June 30. A collapsed road between sectors 14 and 15. (Express photo by Kamleshwar Singh) Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element.

Although the city authorities spend Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1.20 crore every year for the monsoon season on cleaning 35,000 road gullies, yet it is the design of Chandigarhs drainage system that is still blamed of congestion.

Officials say the drainage system is designed to handle just 15mm to 25mm of rain. Whenever there are heavy downpours in the city and they lead to waterlogged roads, the design of the drainage system is blamed. However, locals think otherwise. Chairman of the Federation of Welfare Associations of Chandigarh Sectors, Baljinder Singh Bittu said, “We continue to say that we are a smart city. Is this how a smart city makes the whole city sink in the pouring rain. They keep comparing Chandigarh with cities abroad saying they have the best infrastructure. In these times of technology, how can they blame the design of the drains?

The system was designed in phases, for precipitation of 15 mm per hour in phase 1 (northern sectors), 20 mm in phase 2 (central sectors) and 25 mm in phase 3 (southern sectors).

You have exhausted your monthly limit of free stories.

To continue reading, simply register or log in

Read on with an Indian Express Premium subscription starting at Rs 91 per month.

This premium item is currently free.

Sign up to read more free stories and access partner offers.

This content is exclusive to our subscribers.

Read on with an Indian Express Premium subscription starting at Rs 91 per month.

This content is exclusive to our subscribers.

Subscribe now to get unlimited access to exclusive and premium stories from The Indian Express.

Despite several debates at general house meetings every monsoon, nothing good has been achieved because every time they say that the capacity of the drain cannot withstand a heavy flow of rain.

The old drainage system is designed to handle rainfall of 15mm per hour in northern sectors and 25mm per hour in southern sectors of Chandigarh, the civic body said.

Asked why the capacity cannot be built, a senior civic body officer said, “Actually, the problem is that the choices are not thorough. Even though MC increases the capacity of the storm water pipes to accommodate any amount of deluge (which is not necessary), the outflow is blocked because the pick is full and the header pipes are completely submerged.

Chandigarh civic body said all road ravines in Chandigarh city were cleared at least once from March 16 to June 30.

They added that other road ravines are cleared as needed, depending on site conditions and during the rainy season. There are about 35,000 road gullies in the city.

In Chandigarh, road gully clearance usually involves a combination of manual and mechanical means. Manual clearing involves workers equipped with proper protective gear using hand tools to manually remove debris, leaves, and any other obstructions from road gullies.

Mechanical cleaning involves suction machines or jet machines are also used to clean road gullies, RCC pipe connection and machine holes in case of heavy blockage. These machines can either suck out accumulated silt and debris from the gully chamber or use high-pressure water jets to clear blockages inside the pipes.

Officials from the civic body say that in addition to the regular personnel who are deployed throughout the year, an additional 70 MTWs are exclusively deployed for the monsoon season from March 16 to September 16.

The Indian Express (P) Ltd

First published on: 2023-07-10 at 02:21 IST

[ad_2]