PATNA: Heavy showers, which lashed parts of Patna and adjoining areas on late Friday night, exposed the tall claims of monsoon preparedness by the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.
The city, which received an average rainfall of 145.4mm in the last 24 hours, witnessed several waterlogged roads and streets on Saturday morning.
Rainwater got accumulated outside deputy chief minister (CM) Renu Devi’s residence in Patna.
Similar was the situation on the premises of the Vidhan Sabha, which is only a few steps away from the deputy CM’s house.
Waterlogging in areas like Patliputra Colony, Kankarbagh, Rajendra Nagar, Airport Road, Patel Nagar, S K Puri, Khagaul, Gola Road and Phulwarisharif also led to traffic congestion in the morning.
Although rainwater was drained out from many localities later, the residents of Shastri Nagar and Patliputra Colony waded through ankle to knee-deep water till evening.
PMC officials claimed that the reason behind the prolonged waterlogging in these two areas was yet to be known, but 50 workers had been roped in to get rid of the problem.
PMC commissioner Himanshu Sharma told this newspaper that water had successfully receded from most areas within a few hours after the rain stopped.
“We are trying our best to resolve the problem in Patliputra Colony by checking all the outfalls with the help of a map.
We have also asked our workers to see if the 100 drains in the locality have any blockage.” He added, “As far as Shastri Nagar is concerned, the drains leading to Rajbanshi Nagar were damaged due to some new constructions in the area.
We will, therefore, construct a new drainage pipe soon.” Meanwhile, the residents of Patliputra and Shastri Nagar had a tough time stepping out of their houses for the daily chores.
Vikesh Kumar, a resident of New Patliputra Colony, rued, “Rainwater has entered my house.
It is unhygienic and dirty.
I do not know what to do.” Ashish Kumar Sanjay, who lives in Gardanibagh, said he was scared to go out not only because of waterlogging, but also the dug-up and pothole-ridden roads.
A resident of Patel Nagar, Neha Singh, complained, “Heavy rainfall has made a mess of the entire area.
It is disgusting.”