Hassled by rain over the past four days and the subsequent waterlogging, residents of the state capital are virtually at nature’s mercy following Patna Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) measures to combat flooding flopped.

A total of 97mm rainfall till 5.30pm on Monday flooded areas like Bahadurpur, Kankerbagh Rajendra Nagar, Lohanipur, Jai Prakash Nagar and Gardanibagh. On Tuesday, only 43.8mm rain hours submerged the same areas.

The residents of these areas had heaved a sigh of relief when the accumulated water cleared out by 6pm on Monday, around seven or eight hours after it stopped raining. But the dirty pools of water resurfaced on Tuesday after three hours of moderate rainfall, forcing commuters to wade through waterlogged stretches.

Mayor Afzal Imam, however, claimed that minor waterlogging was reported from a few areas. He assured people of PMC workers’ assistance in case of any problem.

The residents allegedly did not get much help from the civic body workers over the past few days, though. Without much choice, they either have to wait for hours at home for the water to clear out and get bitten by mosquitoes or wade through the sewerage water.

Raman Singh, a resident of Rajendra Nagar, said: “My colony has turned into large cesspool of stagnant water, triggering an increase in the number of mosquitoes. Wading through the waterlogged road is worrisome but sitting at home and getting bitten by mosquitoes is more bothersome. I am unable to understand the utility of PMC.”

In Kankerbagh, residents found a voice to air their grievances.

“Before the start of monsoon, all councillors insisted that the drains be cleaned properly. It is the PMC commissioner’s job to ensure proper monsoon preparedness but he seems to have evaded the job. The results are now for everyone to see. Residents are coming to me with their complaints. I have been prodding PMC officials to act,” said Pinki Yadav, the councillor of ward number 31, which comprises flooding-prone areas such as Ashok Nagar, Postal Park Colony and Indira Nagar among others.

“The city has witnessed moderate rain so far and the chinks in PMC’s claims have already been exposed. In many areas of our locality, people cannot even step out of their homes without wading through accumulated drain water. PMC has not even been able to clean drains ahead of monsoon,” said Suneel Kumar, a resident of Bahadurpur.

Employees at a waterlogged petrol pump in Bahadurpur were seen having a tough time attending to vehicles.

Taking a defensive stance, Chandrama Singh, the PMC additional commissioner (planning and development), said: “Our officials and workers are inspecting various areas and have reported no major waterlogging anywhere in the city so far. But adequate pumps and workers are ready to clear out the water from localities through storm water channels.”

He said: “Rain will definitely cause some waterlogging on the streets but it usually clears out on its own in a few hours. Clogging of drains cannot be blamed on that. Almost all drains of the city have been cleaned, which are helping drain out the rain water.”