Ludhiana drowns again

Ludhiana: Spelling havoc, 4-hour rain on Thursday morning literally left the city under water. The roads turned into rivulets, forcing commuters to leave their snag-hit vehicles on the roads; houses and shops in several areas were flooded; and Buddha Nullah water was all over localities situated on its banks.
Rains also proved fatal for a man, who suffered a heart attack.With 108 ambulance allegedly refusing to come to New Shivaji Nagar in view of massive waterlogging, the victim, identified as Rajkamal, could not be taken to a hospital on time. He was declared brought dead at the hospital.
Varun Aggarwal, general secretary, Helping Hands club, said Rajkamal, a tailor by profession, was at his shop in New Shivaji Nagar when his bike fell in the water due to tides caused by a car. He said as Rajkamal went to park his bike again, he suffered a heart attack. Coming to his help, people called up 108 ambulance, but the person at the other end refused to come to the area citing waterlogging. He said then they took Rajkamal to a private hospital in an auto-rickshaw where he was declared brought dead.
Water enters houses
Water entered houses and shops near Shingaar cinema road in Harcharan Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, New Vishnupuri, Talaab Bazar, Rupa Mistry Street, Chaura Bazaar, Gur Mandi and several other areas.
Worst-hit areas
Flood-like situation prevailed in Shivaji Nagar, Shingaar Cinema Road, Harcharan Nagar, New Madhopuri, New Kundanpuri, Chandigarh Road, Ghumar Mandi, Pakhowal Road Shastri Nagar, Haibowal, Chander Nagar, Civil Lines, Model Town, Transport Nagar, Gurdev Nagar, Bhai Wala Chowk, Ferozepur Road, Chaura Bazaar, Akalgarh market, Damoria Bridge, Panj Peeran Road, Hambran Road, Mata Rani Chowk, Gill Road, Club Road, College Road, Rani Jhansi Road, Samrala Chowk, Field Ganj, Gujjarmal Road, Sekhewal Road, Tibba Road, Kashmir Nagar road.
Buddha Nullah overflows near Kundanpuri, Peeru Banda
The filthy water from Buddha Nullah spilled on to the road near New Kundanpuri Bridge under railway line and in the fields at Peeru Banda, Salem Tabri. The MC officials acted afterwards and removed some of the garbage from inside the drain. At other locations too, the drain water touched the danger mark.
Mayor should resign, demands Cong leader
In a strong reaction over waterlogging, the former councillor and Congress leader Parminder Mehta sought resignation of Ludhiana mayor Balkar Sandhu and appealed to Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh to suspend officials of civic body, responsible for this situation.
He said he would file a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana high court for all those people who suffered losses with rainwater entering their houses or shops. Mehta said the civic officials did not learn any lesson from flood-like situations in Bathinda and that is why they did not make any arrangements in advance.
He said earlier, neither the mayor, nor any senior MC official checked the cleaning of road gullies or sewerage system. And now when city got submerged in rain water they all went out on road as face saving exercise. He demanded that loss of public should be paid from the salary of officials and Mayor.
Manju Aggarwal, BJP councillor, ward number 57, said, “Water entered every house in Shivaji Nagar and adjoining areas simply because the civic officials did not clean the drain from Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib to Shingaar Cinema road.”
Authorities speak
Mayor Balkar Sandhu said, “We admit that rain water flooded city and people were very furious in some of the areas where I visited along with MLA Surinder Dawar. But the rainfall was intense and in past 25 years I have never seen such conditions in the city.” He said from sewer men to the MC Commissioner all were in field to check the condition and they will find the solution to the problem shortly.
The MC Commissioner KP Brar said, “I was there in field along with my officers and checked almost all the bridges on Buddha Nullah. The water logging happened but water kept on draining out.” She said the city does not have separate storm sewerage for rain water and moreover there was heavy rainfall in the morning due to which situation created.
Social media flooded with pictures, videos
The people showed their resentment against the civic body for not finding a solution to waterlogging problem by posting videos and pictures of their respective areas. The videos of ducks swimming outside Khalsa College for Women, people swimming in the waterlogged roads and floating cars went viral on the social media. The residents requested the civic authorities to do something for this problem.
At the receiving end
Pawan Kumar, a businessman from BRS Nagar, said, “People had to leave their vehicles in waterlogged roads.” He said he reached his office with great difficulty. Gurpreet Singh, a shopkeeper from Model Town, said, “Adding to the woes, strong currents caused by the movement of cars on the waterlogged roads proved a nightmare for pedestrians. A woman fell in the water as she could not judge the road under water,” he said.
Waterlogging sparks protest
Shopkeepers who are members of Clock Tower road market association blocked the road protesting against loss due to flooding of their shops. Mayor Balkar Sandhu and MLA Surinder Dawar reached the spot to pacify the situation. President of the association Bittu Gumber said shopkeepers face loss every year due to waterlogging and despite several requests and complaints, MC does nothing to solve this problem especially in this area. He said they were forced to stage a protest on Thursday. He said the shopkeepers had recently brought electronics goods in their shops that were damaged. Mayor Sandhu visited several areas on Thursday. And wherever he went, public asked him only one question as to when this waterlogging problem would be resolved. He had to face questions from residents in areas like Shivaji Nagar, Hargobind Nagar, Chaura Bazaar and Field Ganj.
A few suggestions from residents to MC
Dr A P S Mann, a resident of BRS Nagar, said, “Public parks, which could act as natural water harvesting units, should be at least two feet below the road level. If that happens, the water will not get accumulated on roadsides or roads.” He said the government should make it a must for each resident to install rainwater harvesting system in houses.
Dr S B Pandhi, a resident of Pratap Colony, said, “In areas where public parks are available, the MC should reduce their level from road and lay down underground pipes. It will help water to reach parks.” He said for areas where parks are not available, rainwater harvesting wells should be constructed if MC actually wants to resolve the issue.
F&CC meeting postponed
Due to waterlogging in several areas of the city, the mayor decided to defer the finance and contracts committee meeting that was scheduled for Thursday. He claimed that all officials were in the field to supervise work to clear water from city roads.