Tuesday’s (July 28) torrential rain left behind more than waterlogged streets for residents of Shyam Nagar and parts of Manish Nagar. As knee-height water inundated the locality, homes were flooded, food grains were destroyed, appliances were rendered unusable and families were left to bear losses running into thousands, with residents alleging that poor drainage and official negligence worsened the situation. After the heavy rain, flood water entered houses, forcing families to hurriedly shift their belongings onto beds in a desperate attempt to save them. Despite their efforts, essential household appliances could not be protected. “We kept everything on the bed, but the water kept rising. Around 35 kg of rice and wheat got soaked, and nearly 15 kg had to be thrown away,” said Lalu Sisodia, who has been residing in the area for the past 20 years. Sisodia said this was the first time such flooding had occurred in the locality. “We have lived here for two decades and never witnessed anything like this. No authority came to help us or even assess the damage,” he alleged. Their refrigerator worth nearly Rs 15,000 stopped working after being submerged, while a well motor valued at around Rs 6,000 was also damaged.

 

The family estimated losses of around Rs 21,000. In a neighbouring house, wheat grains, red chilli, sofas and mattress were all damaged, even a cooler worth around Rs 12,000 was rendered unusable after floodwater entered the premises. Residents blamed the flooding on the absence of a proper drainage network and alleged that rapid development in the area has obstructed the natural flow of rainwater. They claimed that a wall constructed near a nullah blocking the flow of rain water into it, causing water to accumulate in the low-lying areas. The city is developing in an invisible manner, hence it could not be seen. Even though it was a natural calamity, this reveals that the city got no proper management prepared for any catastrophic event.

 

The harsh reality gets exposed everytime with such occurring events, which fails to build trust on the authorities who are meant to safeguard public infrastructure, but fails most of the time. “The water has nowhere to drain. Because of the wall near the nullah, it gets trapped here instead of flowing away. Even compound walls have started sinking due to continuous waterlogging,” stated another resident. The incident has reignited concerns over drainage planning in the rapidly developing locality. Residents are now demanding immediate removal of obstructions near the nullah and proper drainage management system to prevent such mishaps in future.