A waterlogged Samastipur street. Picture by Mohan Mahato

The residents of Samastipur would have to wade through flooded streets till the monsoon is over, courtesy skeletal-staffed civic body and poor drainage system.

The residents are worried, as they will have to encounter waterlogging problems for the next three months. The areas that are constantly under knee-deep water during the rains include Professors’ Colony, Tirhut Academy, Kashipur, Women’s College Road and Veer Kuer Singh Colony.

Proper drainage system is absent in most areas. And where a system exists it is choked. Residents are fed up with the municipal corporation’s functioning. The civic body doesn’t have a system by which to drain out rainwater.

Chairman of Samastipur municipality Archana Devi said: “It is difficult to carry out cleaning work in all 29 wards of the town given our limited resources. Residents complain and demand that their drains be cleaned up. But, we have only one machine that can be put to use in one place at a time.”

“We have called a meeting with the municipality’s executive officer, Shashi Bhushan, to explore how to check waterlogging in different colonies. We would soon zero in on a project to help rid the town of waterlogging. Once a project is decided on, we can table it before the town planning and urban development agency,” she said.

Kashipur Colony resident Dr Sushant Kumar said: “Waterlogging brings with it several waterborne diseases. Those who regularly wade through stagnant water are more prone to such diseases.”