Bathinda not yet ready for monsoon

With intermittent spells of rain late Monday and on Tuesday inundating many parts of Bathinda, local residents are bracing to bear the brunt of flooding in the forthcoming monsoon season once again as the municipal corporation has failed to come up with a solution to the chronic problem that plagues the city.

Since the city has no dedicated stormwater drainage network, sewage lines are used for flowing rainwater. Even as the rain lasted for about six hours, many low-lying areas in arterial roads got heavily waterlogged.

Experts blame haphazard urbanisation and poor planning behind deteriorating civic amenities in what is tagged as a ‘VIP city’.

Onus lies on elected representatives

The residents complain that the elected representatives have failed miserably to find a solution to the problem of flooding.

Ironically, the city is part of the Bathinda parliamentary constituency that is represented by Union food processing industries minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a three-time MP. Moreover, the Bathinda (urban) assembly segment is represented by state finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal.

Several localities such as the area around the district administrative complex that houses the official residences of the deputy commissioner, inspector general of police (IGP) and judicial officials had water three feet above the ground.

Vitull K Gupta, a city-based physician, blames the civic body for turning a blind eye to the stormwater problem. Gupta says people struggle to reach their destination due to inundated roads.

“No one is acting on the ground. Imagine how the situation will be when the monsoon sets in. Even as the problem turns acute every rainy season, the corporation has been unable to find a solution,” he says.

NK Gosain, another city resident, says the authorities should fix accountability for the messed up civic amenities in the city.

“In the last four decades, the drainage system has collapsed as the successive governments encouraged unregulated development. The officials and councillors also have a casual approach to the problems faced by people,” he adds.

Municipal commissioner Rishipal Singh admitted that the sewage lines have not been cleaned this year.

The blame game

“The civic body is helpless as maintenance of sewerage has been outsourced by the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) to Triveni, a private firm. As the agency failed to control situation on Tuesday, MC officials had to pitch in to pump out water from the lowlying zones,” he says.

“The MC pays about Rs 50 lakh per month for sewerage maintenance but Triveni has failed miserably in its job. The local body has passed a resolution to take over work from the firm and we have also demanded return of Rs 3 crore for inadequate services,” says the official. Singh says due to the imposition of the model code of conduct during the recently held Lok Sabha polls, the work of start laying a dedicated stormwater network got delayed.

He says it will take a few months to complete the work of strengthening stormwater infrastructure at ₹45 crore under the Centre’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme.

He said the natural old depression zones near Sirki Bazar and DAV College will be cleaned this time.

‘Development plans lacked vision’

Bathinda mayor Balwant Rai Nath says sewerage in the city is inadequate to handle the existing sewage load.

“The water-logging problem in the city areas has turned serious in the last decade. Development plans executed in the past lacked vision. Local MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been paying extra attention on improving cleanliness and development in the city,” the mayor claims. Bathinda deputy commissioner B Srinivasan said an inter-departmental meeting has been called this week to mitigate problem of stormwater ahead of monsoon season.

First Published: Jun 20, 2019 12:49 IST