The monsoon season is arguably one of the most awaited seasons of our country. From farmers to small children everyone keeps their eyes glued to the sky for the first signs of monsoon clouds and the first drops of rain. The first showers bring with them much joy and happiness among the masses. But in our sector apart from joy the monsoons also brings along with itself the issues of water logging and cave-ins.
A couple of hours of heavy rains are enough to turn the sector roads into water bodies of varied sizes. Most of the time the roads are so waterlogged that residents cannot step out of their houses on foot. The main reason for this is the blockage of storm water drains and the drains being higher than the road at some places. Although the Noida Authority has been getting the drains cleaned since the past few weeks the problem remains as it is. It is mainly because the storm water drains are not connected with each other at many places due to blockages under ramps of houses and construction material lying in drains at many places. Also at many places the culverts have become low with passage of time and get jammed from the inside. Cleaning these culverts is humanly not possible and the only solution is to raise the height of these culverts and install iron grills on the top so that they can be opened to clean the drain. This has been done at some places but there are still many places left unattended.
Another issue that the monsoon brings along with itself is the issue of cave-ins. At many places the roads or pavements cave –in leaving a gaping hole in the ground. At many places the drain walls have collapsed. Many times these cave-ins prove to be fatal as pedestrians cannot see them in the dark and risk falling into them. Also many times cars get stuck in these pits and get damaged. Apart from the damage retrieving them from the pits also becomes a herculean task. The reasons for these cave-ins can be many. It can be due to shoddy work being done by the contractors of Noida Authority while construction drains and pavements or due to the below standard repair work done by telecom companies after laying their cables. It may also be noted that the interlocking tiles laid in the sector some time back have also caved in at many places owing to the carelessness of the Noida Authority officers who did not bother to check the quality of work being done by the contractors.
In both cases it is the residents who are at the receiving end. The Noida Authority should ensure that they get the storm water drains cleaned regularly and not just before the monsoon. Also they must instruct their officers to check if all the construction and repair work is done according to standards.
