Incessant rains washed away Bhopal Municipal Corporation’s pre-monsoon patchwork and exposed the city’s poor storm-water disposal system. Heavy rains swamped streets and flooded clogged drains, causing storm and sewer water to enter homes in several areas.
In old Bhopal area, Chandbadh, railway station area and DIG Bungalow area were worst hit. These are same areas which get inundated during every monsoon, yet BMC has failed to plug gaps. Chaos prevailed as people were seen maneuvering through knee-deep water at various intersections across the city.
In low-lying areas, residents faced hardships and newly built colonies were also flooded. BMC commissioner Tejasvi Naik said 70 per cent of the crisis can be attributed to illegal encroachments and the rest to poor civic engineering. “We are working to hammer out a blueprint to tackle all issues that crop up every monsoon,” he said.
Naik said disaster management experts will be consulted to create a comprehensive plan to tackle water logging around Shahpura lake. As for areas like Jyoti Talkies and Habibganj under bridge, Naik said a practical solution for water logging at Jyoti Talkies will be implemented within a month. Problem at Habibganj under bridge would be resolved after construction of Habibganj RoB, he said.
Some 50 complaints were received by BMC call centre on Saturday. The most dramatic was the caving in of an encroached portion in front of leader of Opposition Satyadev Karate’s house at Bharti Niketan. The illegal extension was built over a drain, which was demolished.
This was the second time BMC has demolished the encroachment. “Manholes are overflowing and many roads have been jammed for hours. There is a need to ensure that basic engineering is met and city keeps moving,” said Satish Sharma, a resident of Arera Colony.