Same old story…

First downpour of the season, which brought city to a standstill, has exposed the tall claims of administration, reports P.S. Chauhan

The torrential rain, which submerged most parts of the city in three to four feet of water and caused unprecedented havoc, exposed the hollowness of the claims made by the administration. After spending crores of rupees on the holding of the Kumbh and claiming that infrastructure facilities including drainage and sewage systems have been revamped to such a level extent that the entire region will face no problem for the next 20 years. But all these tall claims have been washed away by just a couple of hours of downpour. A few hours rain created a flood like situation in the city, specially in Brahampuri, New Haridwar, Khanna Nagar, Ranipur Crossing, Katehra Bazar, Bhagat Singh Chowk, Sarva Priya Vihar and Latowali. The overflowing drains flooded the streets and water, mixed with mud and garbage, entered shops and houses. Near the Industrial Area, so swift was the flow of the swelling seasonal brook flowing down from the Mansa Devi and the Rajaji Park that three cars, two motor bikes and one three-wheeler, along with about a dozen persons were swept away by the swirling water. Some of these persons were rescued by the police team, but three of them could not be rescued. Suman Pathak (35), wife of Lavkush, R/o Kankhal, and her four year old son, Sarthak and Arti, wife of B.P. Nawani of Pauri Garhwal are still missing. The business community suffered heavy losses. The shops, the show rooms, the nursing homes at the busy intersection of the city, Ranipur crossing, all were submerged. "It was a sight of destruction. My computer, photostat machine and all other equipments, worth more than Rs. 1 lakh, have been badly damaged," Says Mudit Parashar, who runs a computer centre at Ranipur Crossing. The ATMs of most of the banks were flooded with water and went out of order. Water even entered flowed into State Bank of India, Jwalapur.

"Currency of about Rs. 12 crores has been fully drenched in rain water and spoilt," says Kishore Minz, the manager of the bank. The business community was so enraged that when the chairman of the city municipal board, Kamal Jora, reached Kathera Bazar at Jwalapur, he was roughed up by the shopkeepers and when the member of the municipal board from the local ward, Mukesh Ahuja came to his help, he was thrashed by the irate members of the business community. The entire life in the city was paralyzed by the incessant rains. Traffic came to a standstill. Due to heavy water logging in the railway yard the signal circuit failed and the railway track near the tunnel and the Kali Mandir got covered under thick layers of silt. "Movement of trains remained disrupted for about three hours and the trains movement was hampered," said Ajit Singh, the railway traffic inspector. The underground cables of the BSNL were damaged, causing disruption in mobile, landline and internet services in many parts of the city. Since the schools were flooded with water, the district magistrate, R. Meenakshi Sundram ordered the closure of the all the schools in the city for two days. The state minister for urban development and local MLA, Madan Kaushik along with the officials, took a round of the areas which were worse affected by the rain. He also called an emergency meeting of the top officials of the district. In the meantime the district magistrate has sent a detailed report to the state government about the damage. The urban development minister has announced an ex gratia of Rs.1 lakh to the families of the deceased and adequate compensation to those whose houses and property have been damaged. The state minister for development and the chairman of the city municipal board say that it was a case of natural calamity, perhaps caused by a cloud burst. "It is not a failure of the administration and the municipal board," they argue. However, the former MLA from the city, Ambrish Kumar says that it is more of manmade calamity than a natural calamity. "Of course, we have no control over nature's fury. But, had we revamped the drainage system in the city, the damage to a large extent, could have been avoided," says Ambrish Kumar. Suresh Gulati, the president of the City Vyapar Mandal says that all the nalas (drains), through which rain water used to flow, are now largely clogged, since they have not been cleared of silt and garbage for a long time. "Most of the drains in the city have been encroached upon, resulting in the narrowing of these drains. The administration has remained a silent spectator to these encroachments and if the administration swings into action, the political bosses tie their hands," alleges Adesh Tyagi, a social activist of Shivlok Colony. Vimla Pandey, resident of Sector 1, BHEL says that the drains made by the public works dept. during the Kumbh fall short of the water drainage capacity during the rains. "Some of the drains have been left incomplete. The roads constructed during the Kumbh, have also caved in at many places, further aggravating the problem of water logging", says Pandey.It was the first downpour of the season. Have the politicians, the officials of the district administration and city municipal board taken lessons from the monsoon mayhem?