Patna, March 12: Residents of Sri Krishna Nagar, one of the upscale neighbourhoods in the state capital, experience monsoon conditions all through the year.
The weather here is the same as the rest of the city but the residents are forced to wade through waterlogged streets everyday to reach their destinations. If that’s not enough, the water even enters their homes and the occupants are forced to vacate that part of the house till the water recedes.
Sri Krishna Nagar is suffering from the perennial problem of waterlogging and garbage accumulation.
Residents say the reason behind waterlogging is leakage in the water supply pipeline as well as blockage in the sewage line.
“The drain and the main sewage chamber of road number-2 are blocked for the past six months because of which all the drain water flows inside the houses along this stretch. After filthy water accumulated in our courtyard, we stopped using that part of the house. The waterlogging has also lead to increase in the number of mosquitoes and other insects in the house, and as a result, my family members are falling sick frequently. I have written letters to the municipal commissioner and to the officer concerned of New Capital Circle of the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) but the situation remains the same,” said Suresh Kumar Sharma, a resident of house number-102 at Sri Krishna Nagar.
According to sources, the PMC had floated tenders for construction of an undergrou-nd drain in ward number-26 (Sri Krishna Nagar) for an estimated cost of Rs 3.4 lakh but the contract is still to be awar-ded. This drain, once comple-te, is believed to solve the drai-nage problems in the vicinity.
“The water supply pipeline at the junction of road number-20 and 21, joining at road number-2, is damaged. Consequently, the water keeps leaking and causes frequent waterlogging in the area. Even though the PMC elections are round-the-corner, the repair work has not been undertaken yet,” said Abhishek Kumar, resident of road number-21.
The authorities, on the other hand, assured that the leakage would be plugged at the earliest. “The water supply pipeline at road number-2 of Sri Krishna Nagar has become vulnerable because of excessive pressure. This is due to the fact that most residents are using two water sources — supply line of the civic body and ground water through personal tubewells. Most people do not use the PMC water, which leads to excessive pressure in the pipeline when water is released from the pump house. We would send a team tomorrow and get the pipeline repaired the same day if the problem is not too big. In case the problem is a major one, then it might take more time to complete the repair work,” said Shashank Shekhar Sinha, executive officer of New Patna circle of PMC.
Though the civic officials claim the residents do not rely on PMC’s water supply but not everyone seems to agree with them. “We do not have a tubewell at our home and hence we are totally dependent on the PMC water supply. However, the water coming from the taps stinks. My family members suffer from intestinal disorders every now and then,” said Vivek Kumar, a resident of road number-2.
Residents say waste accumulation has become another perennial problem in the area. “The development of the new park in front of my house has become a bane for us. The clay and soil excavated during the development was dumped on the street and has not been removed in the past two years. The situation worsened when people started dumping garbage here. Now, more than people, pigs, and stray dogs frequent the park. I have made several complaints to the municipal inspector of this ward but nothing has been done till date,” said Madhuri Sinha, a resident of road number-22.
