Residents ride a dingy on a waterlogged street at Rajendra Nagar in Patna on Friday. Picture by Ranjit Kumar Dey

Patna, Aug. 16: Intermittent rain for more than two days has exposed the functioning of the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) with large parts of the city battling waterlogging problems.

The PMC control room has been flooded with calls and the civic body now faces a challenge to flush out the water.

“It started raining on August 13. There was a downpour the next day and we received 26 calls. On Independence Day, we attended to 20 calls. Today, till the afternoon, we received more than 70 calls. The rain stopped by August 15 afternoon but the calls increased owing to the waterlogging menace. By tomorrow (Sunday), the waterlogging problem will be solved. However, the calls have been incessant,” said an official at the PMC control room.

The maximum number of calls came from Kankerbagh, Gardanibagh, Bankipore, Anisabad and others.

“Once the complaint is received, the PMC inspector of that particular area is contacted. Simultaneously, the sump house operators are contacted and they are asked to ensure that the water level is brought down. However, the water accumulated in homes can be flushed out only when the water from the area is sucked through sump pumps,” the official added.

Yesterday, the PMC announced two helpline numbers (0612-3261372/0612-3261373) to deal with cases of waterlogging.

Amit Kumar, a resident of Bhoothnath Road, said: “It has been two days since my house got flooded. I contacted the PMC but no action has been initiated till now.”

Roshan Kumar Singh, who lives in Anisabad, shared similar sentiments. “The PMC, it seems, has ignored the basic civic amenities of Patna. Waterlogging in different parts of the city has been a perennial problem but the corporation has not taken any concrete measure to solve it. Every year, many parts of the city face the same problem. The PMC’s main job is to look after the civic amenities of the city and not concentrate only on demolishing buildings. On one hand, the civic authorities are talking tall about the master plan and other programmes, and on the other, we are forced to live in dirt and filth whenever monsoon arrives,” Singh said.

Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) leader Ajay Kumar and his supporters today burnt the effigy of the municipal corporation commissioner Kuldip Narayan to protest against the waterlogging problem in various parts of the city. The protest was carried out at Allahabad Bank Colony Mor on Bailey Road.