Waterlogging at Dakhni Adda torments residents

Residents of Nakodar remain a harried lot due to the heavy inundation witnessed especially in Dakhni Adda and the chowk there—a busy thoroughfare and one of the low-lying areas in the town. The recent rains have also left other areas in the town waterlogged.

“Nakodar vich Kishtiyan di lor, Nagar Council vi vadhai da patar” (‘Boats needed at Nakodar, Nagar Council also merits congratulations’), a photograph of an inundated Dakhni Adda at Nakodar with this caption went viral on social media on Sunday morning as resident

s posted appeals in jest to arrange boats for them to navigate through the inundated town.

Residents claimed that rainwater would earlier flow into a nearby chappar (pond) but the closure of the drainage outlets due to encroachments in the area had led to serve waterlogging. Nagar Council officials, while conceding water logging, said the problem was a decades-old one and more funds were needed to address it.

The waterlogging hasn’t even spared Nakodar’s Nagar Council office. Nakodar MLA Inderjit Kaur Mann also took a dig at the town’s Congress-ruled nagar council just days ago (on July 1) after she was unable to address a scheduled press conference at the waterlogged Fawara Chowk (where the council office is situated) and had to shift the venue to a private hotel.

Social activist and Nakodar resident Naresh Dhiman said, “The Dakhni Adda is a low-lying area. But closure of existing waterways, reclaiming of chappar land and rampant encroachments have aggravated residents’ woes. It’s among the busiest areas, where traffic comes to a total standstill during rains. Opening up of the pond’s drainage outlets will ease the problem.”

Balwinder Dhaliwal, another resident said, “Various areas in the city remain heavily waterlogged even after a little rain. A park has been made on the erstwhile chappar (pond) and a shed has also come up. There is no outlet for the water in the Dakhni Adda. Another local roadside drain which also took in water, was also made pucca years ago and is now at a higher level than the road. Additionally, massive real estate projects are coming up on Malri side, blocking drainage pathways. New projects are planned without considering sewer and water flow.”

Nakodar Nagar Council president Navneet Aeri said, “The waterlogging in Dakhni Adda has persisted for the past 40 years. We have made repeated pleas to the authorities concerned to solve the problem and I have been taking up the issue since I was a councillor. We had also got estimates made by the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board for a pipeline to ferry water out of Dakhni Adda with the project estimated at Rs 10 to 11 crore. The nagar council has only 2-3 crore for development projects. Unless the government allocates more funds, the project can’t be undertaken. This issue has also been repeatedly taken up.”

MLA Mann said, “People are absolutely right in their criticism. The nagar council has done nothing to solve the problem. It was the council’s job to get sewers cleaned and route water elsewhere before monsoons. But after the monsoon, I myself will get this work completed, given the council’s rampant inaction.”

Countering the council president, Mann said the pipeline work did not need extra money and could be completed with allocated funds.

Jalandhar