Poor drainage bane of Jhajjar residents

Ravinder Saini

Poor drainage continues to haunt residents of Jhajjar city. The problem of water-logging that aggravates during the monsoons has not been addressed for a long time. The municipal committee authorities, before the monsoons every year, make claims of making adequate arrangements to deal with the problem but several areas of the city get inundated even in the event of light rain. 

The Ambedkar Chowk, Old Bikaner Chowk, Old bus stand road, Beri Gate, Silani Gate, Mata Gate, Sitaram Gate and the Old Talav road are some of the localities that get waterlogged during the monsoons, causing inconvenience to residents.    

“All political parties and their candidates at the time of elections make promises to find a permanent solution to this chronic problem but forget afterwards. People have to bear the brunt of the monsoons in the absence of proper drainage,” says Om Prakash, a retired Army man. 

He says that they are residing in Jhajjar city for the past over three decades and the issue of water-logging has been persisting since then. Half-hearted efforts were made during the previous Congress government but thereafter, no one paid attention towards the problem, he adds.  

“Every year, the rainy season brings misery for shopkeepers at the Bikaner Chowk, main market and the Ambedkar Chowk as these places and connecting roads get submerged, adversely affecting our businesses,” says Shiv Kumar, a shopkeeper.

He says that though several shopkeepers have raised the base of their shops to protect goods from rainwater, customers avoid visiting their shops due to water-logging in the areas. We have requested the municipal authorities several times to establish  proper drainage, but to no avail, he adds. 

Roop Singh, a tea shop owner, says that he is running his shop near the PWD Rest House for the past 20 years. Successive governments have not paid attention to the issue of inadequate drainage. Even in the event of light rain, he has to keep his shop closed for several hours to save it from getting flooded, he adds. 

Vinod, a chemist, says that drains constructed for rainwater remain blocked throughout the year, leading to accumulation of water at the Chhikara Chowk.  

Bhudev Gulia, husband of municipal councillor from Ward No. 19, says that rainwater not only inundates the old bus stand, Arya Nagar and other adjoining colonies but also enters the PWD Rest House and other government offices at the Jahan Aara Bagh. 

He says that the previous Congress government had brought a project to construct a drain from the Canal Rest House Chowk to the Kosli road where rainwater could be diverted to a nearby main drain. The work on the drain was initiated but was stopped midway for technical reasons, he adds.

Surendra, another resident, says that blocked drains are the main reason behind water-logging in the city. A tender is issued every year to de-silt drains and clean the sewerage but it proves to be mere eyewash as drains continue to remain blocked, he says.