VIJAYAWADA: Lack of a comprehensive plan and coordination in case of storm water drainage system are playing havoc with Vijayawada people. Especially, people of One Town are facing severe problems due to lack of storm water drainage system. The situation is so pathetic that, in 2008 One Town got submerged in water for two due to blocking of drainage system. People have been rescued using boats then. Also inundation of homes and floods are common features every rainy season posing serious problems to the people.
Winchipet, Kamsalipet, Islampet, Rajeswaripet, Kothapet, Mahantipuram, Ajithsinghnagar, Jendachettu Centre, Milk Factory, Jendachettu Centre, Nizamgate centre among other places in One Town completely get inundated due to lack of storm water drains in rainy season. The problem is not just restricted to old city but even areas in new city like Pinnamaneni Polyclinic Road, Machavaram Down, Tikkle Road, Governorpet, Chuttugunta, Moghalrajapuram, Suryaraopet also face the inundation problem due to lack of storm water drains.
In spite of spending huge amount of money on construction of storm water drains Vijayawada Municpal Corporation (VMC) has been unable to create a proper network of storm water drains. While storm water drains have been constructed at places like BRP Road, KL Rao Nagar, Jendachettu centre, MG Road, among other places they are unable to handle the discharge of water which is very huge when compared to their capacity.
“Though population has grown exponentially storm water drainage system and under ground drainage system has not been upgraded on par with growing population. For instance a storm water drain has been constructed from Jendachettu centre to decrease flooding in One Town areas but there is no result from it as every every rainy season the areas gets inundated posing problems to residents and traffic,” explains B Rama Rao a hotel owner at Jenda chettu centre.
The reason behind failing of the existing storm water drains is due to failure of VMC’s engineering department complain local people. “There is no proper system to evaluate the scale of requirements for storm water drains at various places. While bigger drains have been constructed at places where small drains would have served, smaller storm water drains have been constructed at places where bigger drains were needed. Moreover outfalls of storm water drains have been not planned well and due to clogging of outfalls of drains, many colonies have been inundated,” explains Ch Babu Rao CPM city secretary.
For instance storm water drain at Gurunanak Colony which runs till Eluru Road has been constructed at a much bigger scale than needed VMC has been turning blind eye to the proposal of constructing a storm water drain at Ajith Singh Nagar and Payapuram till 33 Vents, which will ease the flooding in surrounding areas providing relief to more than 25,000 homes in the surrounding areas.
This just one side of VMC’s indifferent attitude towards people’s problems. Leave about constructing new storm water drains even desilting of existing drains is not done properly. While about hundred
workers are allocated desilting drains all over the year special desilting drive will be held every year before the start of rainy season. Even VMC has brought three super suction machines for
desilting by expending about 4.5 crores rupees but the machines have not served the purpose as they were able to remove only the water and not the silt. Already heavy rain in second week of May had shown how this rainy season is going to be as roads and houses flooded with water. But there is no signs of VMC officials taking up any special measures in case of improving storm water drains or constructing new ones till now.
VMC in-charge chief engineer T Moses Kumar said that though there are proposals of constructing new storm water drains, due to various reasons and general elections it was delayed, But soon proposals for new storm drains would be made as new by the time new governing body takes charge and tenders would be called.