The season's first pre-monsoon shower has exposed glaring shortcomings in Sirsa's drainage infrastructure, leaving several roads waterlogged and damaged, and causing inconvenience to residents, traders and commuters.
Rainwater accumulated at multiple locations across the city, while stretches of roads dug up under the ongoing stormwater drainage project reportedly caved in after the rainfall. Locals alleged that the roads were not restored properly after excavation work, raising concerns about the quality of the project.
Worst-Affected Areas and Traffic Disruption
The worst-hit areas included the stretch between Shaheed Jagdev Singh Chowk and Subhash Chowk, where vehicles were seen getting stuck in sunken portions of the road, disrupting traffic movement.
Senior Congress leader Raj Kumar Sharma blamed the poor execution of the stormwater drainage project for the situation. He said waterlogging and damaged roads had reduced customer footfall in markets, adversely affecting business activity and causing losses to shopkeepers.
Political Criticism and Demand for Audit
Sharma alleged that the city was witnessing a repeat of the problems experienced under the earlier stormwater drainage project. Despite claims that waterlogging would be eliminated, several areas continue to face flooding even after crores of rupees have been spent on drainage infrastructure, he said.
Warning that conditions could worsen during the monsoon, Sharma demanded a quality audit of the project and immediate repairs at locations affected by road subsidence and waterlogging.
Residents' Complaints and Official Response
Residents of Janata Bhawan Road also complained about waterlogged streets. Bharatiya Kisan Ekta (BKE) state president Lakhwinder Singh Aulakh said the road, which connects Janata Bhawan Hospital and serves as a key link to the grain market, regularly experiences waterlogging after rainfall.
Aulakh alleged that repeated complaints to the Public Health Department had yielded no results. He claimed officials cited a shortage of staff due to ongoing training programmes. He urged the administration to clear the stagnant water and improve drainage arrangements before the arrival of the monsoon.
Responding to the criticism, District Municipal Commissioner Surender Beniwal said work on the 21-km stormwater drainage project was progressing according to prescribed quality standards. Around 12 km of the project has been completed, while work on the remaining 9 km is still underway, he said.
Beniwal explained that roads cannot be reconstructed immediately after pipelines are laid, as the soil requires time to settle. He expressed confidence that the project would provide a long-term solution to the city's waterlogging problem once completed and assured residents that any complaints regarding quality would be investigated and addressed promptly.
