Residents dump claims of authorities

Kulwinder Sangha

Mohali, June 22

Although officials of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation claim that most of the road gullies in the town have been cleaned before the onset of the monsoon, residents complain that the work has not been done properly, leading to waterlogging in many parts of the town.

Waterlogging was seen at the traffic light point near Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan, Sohana, and several other points on the airport road after a heavy rain on June 19. Water had also collected on roads for a long time in Phases I , II, III B 2 and IV, near the Madanpur chowk and several other points.

Kuljit Singh Bedi, municipal councillor living in Phase III B 2, said here today that though road gullies had been cleaned in his area, the work had not been done in a satisfactory manner. Nearly 10 road gullies were lying blocked, which adversely affected the water drainage system. He said the problem of waterlogging existed in the 7.5 marla houses area, near Liberty Hospital and a pocket of houses near the PCL chowk.

A resident of Phase IV, Manjit Singh Sodhi, said he was not aware whether the authorities had cleaned the road gullies or not, but over the years he had to cross a waterlogged area, whenever there was a heavy rain, to reach his showroom in Phase V. He said a lot of rainwater collected on a stretch of the road dividing the HM houses area and Bougainvillea Garden. The problem had not been solved over the years.

Karam Singh Dhanoa, a resident of Sector 70, said only about 20 per cent of the road gullies in the area had been cleaned. He said the authorities woke up only when areas got flooded. When there was a heavy rain on Monday, it was difficult for him to drive back home as the road dividing Sectors 70 and 71 was almost flooded.

An SDO of the Sanitation Department, Manjit Singh, said 90 per cent of the work on cleaning road gullies in his assigned area had been completed. The remaining work would be over in a few days. The stormwater system was functioning normally. He said an area could be called waterlogged only if water did not drain out in about half an hour.

Vasdev Anand, Executive Engineer, GMADA, said the work of cleaning road gullies had been initiated and would be completed before the monsoon started.