Monsoon sets in, soothes & swamps city

Noida/Ghaziabad: As monsoon set in, the first showers brought along the familiar problems of waterlogging, traffic snarls and outages in several parts of Noida and Ghaziabad on Thursday.
Like in the past, clogged sewers and overflowing drains were one of the main reasons for waterlogging in Noida sectors 19 and 27, where dirty water entered several houses. Greater Noida was no different, where roads in Pi-3, Delta-2 and nearby areas were under ankle-deep water. In Ghaziabad, Patel Nagar, Sahibabad and Loni were flooded. All these areas faced traffic snarls as vehicles moved at a snail’s pace.
The rains, however, brought relief from the sweltering heat. The maximum temperature in Noida dipped from 36.8°C on Wednesday to 26.1°C in 24 hours. Till 5.30pm, the city had received 116.6mm of rainfall.
Residents bore the brunt of the clogged drains. “Had the sewers been cleaned in advance, there would have been no waterlogging here. We keep writing to the Noida Authority from time to time, but the problems remain the same,” said Kanhaiya Lal Awana, president of the Sector 27 RWA.
In Sector 19, people had to drain out dirty water using buckets from their homes.
In Greater Noida, Pi-3 was one of the worst-affected sectors. “Waterlogging disrupted our routine as we could not step out of home. Markets remained shut and roads were under water,” said Amal Gupta, a resident of Pi-3.
In neighbouring Ghaziabad, streets were flooded in Site 4 industrial area of Sahibabad. “It’s just the first spell of rain and look at the roads here. If it rains for a few days now, I don’t know what will happen. I am wading to my office in folded pajamas. I didn’t bring my bike along since it was dangerous to drive,” said Amit Singh, an industry worker.
Many traders in Valmiki Kunj, Patel Nagar and near the Vasundhara signal could not open their stores. “I don’t know when I can open my shop today. Even if I open, who will wade through the water and visit my shop? Every year, I go through losses during the monsoon,” said Ramesh Yadav, a shopkeeper in Valmiki Kunj.
There were traffic jams too on several roads. In Noida, traffic was choked at Labour Chowk. As vehicles moved slowly, an auto-rickshaw broke down in the middle of the road.
Ganesh Prasad Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic) in Noida, said his force was deployed on the roads to guide the traffic. “The traffic police personnel helped vehicles move during the rain. We also issued an advisory for commuters to avoid the flooded stretches. We informed the authorities concerned to drain out the water using pumps. There was no waterlogging on the Noida Expressway or DND Flyway,” he added.
The police said they did not receive any information about uprooted trees or poles.