Waterlogged streets in the monsoon are not very uncommon but a 200m stretch on Bailey Road has sprung a surprise to commuters this spring.

The arterial road connects the western part of the city with the rest and the stretch between Patna Golf Club and Sheikhpura Mor has been a nightmare for people since the first week of February.

The worst sufferers are JD Women's College students who have to wade to reach the institution. Officials have put the blame on an agency, which is constructing the police headquarters building adjacent to the college. The agency apparently damaged the underground drainage system during construction.

Expressing disappointment over the road condition, motorist Tarkeshwar Choudhary (38), while passing through the stretch, said: 'It is horrible. I got stuck in a traffic jam for a long time due to waterlogging. It is also dangerous to ride a motorbike in this condition as one may lose balance.'

The plight of commuters has been compounded because of closure of a southern flank of the road along this stretch and the other flank has been divided in two parts with the help of a temporary divider made up of iron rods. This has made the road narrow and traffic becomes very slow while passing this stretch. A student of JD Women's College said one of her fellow mates had also fallen in the dirty water while trying to enter the premises. Shreya Singh, a student of the college, said: 'Our Intermediate exams are going on and we have to come to college at any cost as we cannot afford to miss a paper. However, this waterlogging in front of the college gate has made our life hell. Our dress gets dirty everyday by water splashes when any vehicle passes the road. I fail to understand why authorities had not planned an alternative route before doing such work.'

Even the college principal wrote letters to all the authorities concerned to tackle the situation urgently. Principal Subhash Prasad Sinha said: 'I have written letters to all the authorities concerned, including the district magistrate, director-general of police, Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) commissioner, divisional commissioner, Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited and the road construction department to fix the problem on an urgent basis. Till now, no major accident has taken place but minor incidents are happening everyday. I have also made it clear to them that if the problem is not solved then I may decide to close the college for a few days. However, some officials have informed me that the issue would be solved before March 20.'

Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited is the executing agency for the flyover and its officials claim they would repair the road only after the waterlogged street is made dry. 'We have written several letters to the PMC to drain out the water so we can make the road motorable. Unless they do so, we cannot do anything. Even we are concerned about the problem being faced by commuters and college students. It was the PMC which is responsible for creating this,' a senior official of the Nigam said.

PMC commissioner Shrisat Kapil Ashok claimed the problem of waterlogging would be solved in one week. 'Earlier, there was some problem and we couldn't drain the water out. Let me assure everyone that water would be cleared from that stretch in seven days. I understand people are facing problems,' said Ashok.