VISAKHAPATNAM: THE sight of a thick dark cloud is enough to give the residents of Velampeta in the One Town area the creeps.
The rain induced by deep depression developed over the Bay of Bengal brought a big respite to Vizag citizens from the sweltering heat, but it unleashed a bag of worries for the One Town residents.
As the skies opened up on Tuesday night, the residents of Velampeta and its surroundings started shifting their household articles to attics. It has become a ritual as even a slight drizzle makes the drain water swell, flooding the area.
On tuesday night, water entered the houses and the residents, most of them daily wagers, kept transferring their household articles from the rooms facing the drains, while some others kept scooping drain water from their houses. The exercise went on through out the night, the locals said.
“Summer days are better for us. Even if it drizzles for a while, our houses get flooded. A rain for just half an hour leaves us marooned for almost 24 hours,” said I Devudamma, a resident of Velampeta.
A wet spell of around 90 minutes, it takes more than 48 hours for the flooding drain water to recede, she said.
For the 180 households dotting four lanes at Velampeta, swelling drains in monsoon remain a worry. “This has been the situation for many years now. Almost 90 per cent of the houses here have just two rooms. We shift the things to the back room and stay indoor, while one keeps on draining the water out,” said Narayana, another resident.
The locals can’t even cook till the water is drained out completely. “We bring food from outside as cooking is not possible. We sleep in a single room, amid the stench with plastic cups and water sachets floating around,” said K Manikyam, an MBA from the locality. “Some elders try to clear the drain using big sticks. No civic official comes to our rescue,” he adds.
The residents allege failure of the GVMC in taking preventive measures. Not only in the interior residential areas, drain water spills on to the main road near the Indira Priyadarshini stadium, making it difficult for the motorists to ply towards the Jagadamba junction. Many locals stay indoors to make sure that they do not contract diseases.
Waste dumping in drains continues unabated
Pointing out the overflowing drains as the reason, the residents allege that the cleaning of drains by the sanitary staff is not proper. Food wastes from Poorna Market add to the woes.
With many tea stalls, pan shops and tiffin centres dotting the nearby drains, customers and shopkeepers are seen dumping wastes in the drain. As a result plastic cups, cigarette butts and packets, milk sachets and a few others are seen more in number. Such wastes get struck and spill out on the roads at many junctions.
Many houses not connected to drain
Many houses in the interior areas of Velampeta are not connected to drainage. The residents themselves have dug a small pit outside their houses to serve as the drainage facility.
As soon as the pit is filled, they scoop out the water using plastic buckets and release it into major drain.