Merely uttering the word development sends a chill down the spine of people in the emerging suburbs of Besa-Beltarodi-Pipla and Ghogli, thanks to ever efficient Government system that seems to be hell-bent on disturbing their normal lives. The ongoing programme of laying drainage line undertaken by Nagpur Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (NMRDA), the outlay which is Rs 1,200 crore, has already given a significant sign of impending challenges for citizens. The pre-monsoon showers showed what lies in store for the people when the monsoon gets vigorous. What has happened is that as per new norms, the drainage line is being laid right through middle of the road. So the perfectly aligned concrete roads were dug up, leaving hardly any space for movement in several residential localities.

 

On top of that, post laying of the drainage network, the roads were not repaired. A visit to localities felt as if one is moving through a war-ravaged country. Post deluge, the construction site was full of slush, leaving citizens in a fix, as they could not even reach their homes. The pre-monsoon showers were not that heavy, just for about 15 to 20 minutes, and yet the area being home to black cotton soil, the absorption of rain water was enough to leave the road unmotorable. At many places, pictures emerged of citizens trying to drag their two-wheelers through the mud-splashed road. In another incident, a four-wheeler got stuck due to the muddy road.

 

The roads in the suburbs are already narrow, so the digging-up of middle portion of laying pipelines means the users are on their own while navigating through the reduced width. Any misjudgment means the vehicle is bound to move off the road and get stuck into the slush. The citizens narrated their woes to office bearers of Besa-Pipla Nagar Panchayat but latter was helpless in providing any solution as the work is being executed by NMRDA which is beyond their preview. So this monsoon the citizens are on their own in managing the risk to their vehicles and also themselves as the roads are not going to restored till entire work is completed. Such scenes are common in Besa-Beltarodi-Ghogli-PIpla as NMRDA is executing drainage network.