Residents hassled as rain, sewerage water entre houses in Mohali
People residing in 1,200 houses located in the low-lying area of Phase 11, Mohali, were seen pumping out water using buckets, tubs, wipers and making temporary brick walls to combat the rain water getting inside their houses
The rainwater and sewerage entered houses after morning rain showers in Mohali on Monday, leaving residents hassled. The most affected areas were Phase 11, Phase 4 and 5, 3b2, and Sector 80, where overflowing roads made it difficult for commuters to get through during office hours.
Mixed with rain water, garbage and plastic waste was seen floating on the flooded Sector-71 road, which even reached near a private high school during school hours. With just 90 minutes of rain in the morning around 7.30 am, it took municipal corporation teams and the water and sanitation department around four hours to clear the water from the low-lying area of Phase 11, using a 40-horse power (HP) motor pump that has been permanently laid there due to the gross waterlogging issue. The pump discharges 9,000 litre of water per minute.
People residing in 1,200 houses located in the low-lying area of Phase 11 were seen pumping out water using buckets, tubs, wipers and making temporary brick walls to combat the rain water getting inside their houses.
Sanjeev Joshi, a resident of Phase 11, said, “With just one hour of rain, the cars parked in the streets got submerged and people got stuck inside their houses during the duty hours.”
Senior district Congress leader and former senior deputy mayor Rishav Jain had sought the resignation of senior MC officers for not resolving public issues, especially waterlogging in low-lying areas during the MC House meeting held on August 22.
“Administration is least bothered about public miseries. We still need another generator and pump to avoid waterlogging in front of the houses in Phase 11. Even after a ₹2.5-crore budget was passed in July last year for the same, we are yet to get relief due to the lackadaisical approach of the officers who are not paying attention to the poor drainage system, damaged roads and public safety,” Jain said.
However, an MC officer said a 10 lakh estimate for an additional pump in Phase 11 has been received, which will be installed after getting sanctioned by the authorities concerned. Residents in Chajju Majra, Kharar, also protested against the state government and raised anti-government slogans after roads overflowed with rain and sewage water.
After residents protested on the roads, Kharar SDM Gurmandar Singh reached the spot and assured the residents of a permanent solution to the issue soon. At present, sewage pipelines in the area are smaller, with a diameter of 304.8mm, causing blockage. Earlier in January, Kharar MLA Anmol Gagan Maan had inaugurated a ₹4-crore sewer pipeline project on Nijjer Road, but residents are yet to see any development.
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What needs to be done
Current infrastructure or the storm system in the city is unable to cope with climate and thus, the drainage system is not designed to deal with such levels of water falling.
Present storm system in Mohali has been designed according to 25 mm per hour rain, whereas the automatic weather station at Mohali frequently records double rain in the city, causing inundation at the city roads.
City now needs a storm system according to 55 mm per hour of rain.
Road level of the main road in Phase 4 is higher than sector road.
Existing pipe network in Phase 11 is inadequate to dispose of water away from the area and 15 pipes needs replacement.