Storm sewerage proposal rejected; residents to see water-logged this monsoon also

Ludhiana: City residents will be witnessing water-logging even this rainy season while commuting on railway station road near Raikhy Cinema chowk as the proposal to install storm sewerage has been rejected under the smart city mission project by senior officials in Chandigarh.
However, councillor Rakesh Prashar is claiming to making efforts to bring this project under MC funding now, but it will take time and during the rainy season, which is around the corner, the shopkeepers will also bear the brunt as rainwater enters the shops as well.
In the proposal, it was suggested that storm sewerage line should be laid from Raikhy Cinema chowk till Clock Tower, from where the rainwater would be thrown into the Buddha Nullah. The proposal was sent for approval under smart city mission project but the authorities denied by saying that instead of catering to just one stretch, it would have been better if the entire road was taken up for this purpose.
Congress councillor Rakesh Prashar said, “I had taken up this proposal because people have been demanding the storm sewerage at this location. Thousands of commuters pass through this stretch and many shopkeepers are running their business here and whenever there is rainfall, the entire stretch gets submerged.”
He further said now when the proposal had been rejected under the smart city mission project he had asked the officials of the civic body to prepare the estimates, so that they could go ahead with the project.
Meanwhile, a shopkeeper, Akash Kumar, said, “Every rainy season becomes a nightmare when the area gets submerged in rainwater. The authorities should seriously think about a solution to the problem, so that we should get relief.”
A resident of Civil Lines, Manoj Sharma, who takes this route on a daily basis, said, “When there is heavy rainfall, water-logging takes place to such an extent that vehicles develop technical snags after passing through the stretch.” He said there were many other locations in the city, where similar scenes can be seen but the authorities are not serious about the same.
The city has 18% storm sewerage coverage
The industrial town has only 18% coverage as far as storm sewerage is concerned and even that has been connected with the main sewerage line. The officials claimed that the main sewerage line is not meant to take the load of rainwater and this is the major reason for water-logging during the rainy season.