Come this monsoon and Pune will yet again, witness several areas getting flooded, thanks to the poor drainage and sewer management.
This is a perennial problem that has seen little respite. Overflowing manholes, incomplete digging work, littered garbage and insufficient storm water drains are all catalysts for this inundation every year.
The authorities seems to be in denial most of the time and have made no effort for any permanent resolution. Attending to frantic SOS calls from citizens is far from enough and the root cause needs to be tackled.
Citizen groups and activists have been crying hoarse over this, year on year, yet, the situation on the ground remains unchanged, say these informed citizens:
“ The Rains will be here anytime now and the potholes and open manholes will pose a major problem, as always ” says Ruchika Singh, a school teacher.
I notice that several manholes are permanently covered with concrete lids. Some have vertical rods covering them and others that do not have a lid. The semi-covered manholes are often choked by plastic and garbage, leading to the storm water drains overflowing onto the streets.
Moreover, commuters are caught unaware with these manholes and often meet with unfortunate accidents. The corporation must be attend to this right away and prevent a treacherous monsoon experience for citizens, she adds.
“Leave along the monsoons, these open manholes poses danger for citizens, throughout the year,” says a shopkeeper near City Pride, Satara road.
These large sized manholes are covered with iron-mesh lids that have worn out in most cases. People walk and ride over them without realizing that it is unsafe.
To avoid accidents, we keep putting a long stick or a broken branch over the lid to make people aware that it is dangerous,” he adds.
Garbage from the streets clog and choke the drains, Often these lids are removed by people to unclog the drains and this causes issues says, Ramdas Kishore, a resident of Undri. In London, they have CCTV drain surveys conducted to help prevent the blocking of drains to avoid situations like these. You can see more about it here – https://fsdrainage.com/cctv-drain-survey-sewer-inspection/london/. This ought to be something done here routinely too.
There are quite a few manholes on the streets and footpaths that are now used by people as a waste dumping space, without realizing that it can cause a grave mishap. This is the case even on the highways, where huge and heavily loaded vehicles move.
The streets are dug up periodically for some cable laying or construction work and often a lot of these holes are not covered well after that, and we bear the brunt, says Abbas Godrawala, an entrepreneur.
The roads are far from smooth and have depressions all over, leading to a very uncomfortable driving experience. It is worse for pregnant women, the elderly and kids.
Since the weather is now very unpredictable, it is best that the authorities take cognizance and prepare well for the impending rains,” he adds.
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Reach her at loveleen@pune365.com or tweet @KaurKaur18
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