DAYA News Bureau, 29 August 2022: Just three hours of heavy rain yesterday saw various areas of Durgapur getting submerged under water. Parts of various wards including numbers 15 and 20 of Durgapur Municipality Corporation (DMC) were inundated in just 3 hours of torrential downpour in the early morning hour of 28th August.
Some areas including Srinagarpalli, Vidyasagar Palli of Ward No. 20 under DMC remained under water for several hours after the rain stopped. In other places, the water receded within an hour, but in ward number 20, water remained accumulated for a long time. Locals complain that water accumulates in the area even if it rains a little.
Champa Mandal, a resident of Srinagarpalli, said, “When it rains, water enters the house. All the furniture sinks. This time also it was not different”. Residents complained that the municipality had promised to take permanent measures to solve the problem. But nothing happened in the ground. The drainage system of the area has been in poor condition for a long time. There is no initiative to reform. So when it rains a little water accumulates in the area. Some of the local residents said that in the rain on Sunday, the water in the area was knee deep and waist deep in some places.
On receiving the news of water accumulation, Borough No. 2 chairman and local Trinamool councilor Ramaprasad Halder went to the area with the cleaning staff of the municipality. He claimed that as permanent measure, DMC with the help of KMDA, has constructed a huge ‘High Drain’ from the private English medium school in Link Road to Tamla Nala at a cost of about seven and a half crore rupees. He alleged that easy and fast flow of water got inhibited because some of the local residents habitually threw plastic and daily waste in the drains. As a result, the drains are blocked and the water gets stuck. Ramaprasad claims, “Everyone should be aware. Otherwise, this problem cannot be solved. After the sanitation workers removed all the garbage from the drain, the water receded from the area.”
Earlier on 18th August, due to heavy rain overnight, water entered about 22 houses in Tentultala Colony of Ward No. 38 of Durgapur Municipality. Apart from this, it has been reported that the production of factories was disrupted due to water intrusion in several factories in Raturia Angadpur Industrial Taluk and Kanksa Industrial Taluk.