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Lovleen Bains
Sahnewal, June 20
Heavy rains today made the passage from the underpasses, constructed on the National Highway-1 near Sahnewal, almost impossible. Every time it pours, most of the underpasses are inundated to the extent that commuters have to travel several extra miles to find a feasible route.
As pre-monsoon showers struck today, the ill-preparedness on the part of the authorities was visible with drains finding no outlet due to blockage.
The drains along the highway are filled with mud and lack the capacity to absorb water as a result of which even a slight downpour becomes a cause of perpetual headache for residents and commuters.
Two-wheelers and pedestrians were the most affected due to the downpour today. Not just Sahnewal, the underpasses of adjoining villages like Pawa Khakat, Dhandari Kalan, Kanech, etc, are also in a pitiable state.
“Due to the construction of flyovers, we already have to travel extra miles to find an underpasses to reach the other side but when we see the underpasses filled to the brim, we get stuck. The same problem came to the fore last year and this year too, the situation seems to be no different,” complained a commuter.
“The blocked drains have never been checked by the authorities and rainwater flows on to the service lanes, thus damaging the roads and creating nuisance for commuters. To make matters worse, the water gets accumulated under the passes till another shower complicates the situation all the more. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears and it seems there is no one to listen to our problem,” said another commuter.
Project director Vijay Kumar Sharma said he would check the reasons behind the blockage of drains and ensure that the problem did not reoccur. “At some places, due to vertical drains, the process of drainage is comparatively slower as compared to places which have longitudinal drains,” he added.
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