Two houses in the Patliputra Kurji area, where the road is above the plinth level. Pictures by Ashok Sinha

Several houses have been flooded this monsoon because of faulty road construction and poor drainage system in the city.

Irked by perennial waterlogging on the premise of his house during the monsoon, Jagdish Upadhyay of Ramnagari Colony Sector- II in Aashiana Nagar, raised the height of the front setback of his house in May.

Upadhyay had built the house in 1985 but started facing the waterlogging menace over the past few years after a new concrete road came up in 2005.

Many areas in the state capital face a similar problem — the height of the road has increased more than the plinth level of houses abutting the road, leading to rainwater flowing into the houses.

On July 10, the urban development and housing department issued a circular to all urban local bodies, including Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC), asking them to ensure that roads in urban areas are built in a manner that their height is not more than the plinth level of the abutting houses. The circular had been issued in light of a Patna High Court order of 2010.“The municipal bodies are required to take steps to ensure compliance of the high court order. They are expected to keep a vigil on road construction activities in urban areas to ensure that the height of new roads is not more than the plinth height of the houses abutting it, said a senior department official.

PMC commissioner Kuldip Narayan claimed the civic body has not received the circular.

Experts attributed the uncontrolled increase in road height to faulty construction practices. “According to an order of the department, the upper layer of the existing road should be excavated prior to re-constructing by putting a new layer. However, most contractors flout such norms while making roads in the city,” said R.S. Choudhary, a former chief town planner of the department.

Residents claimed no new drainage system was put in place, where the roads were high. “A new concrete road was made in my colony in 2005, after which rainwater started entering my house. Though a new road was made, no steps were taken for making a corresponding drainage system, so that rainwater does not flow into our houses,” said Saurav Kumar, a resident of SK Nagar.