JOIN USSultanpet, in the heart of the City, resembled a settlement on an island following heavy rain on Wednesday night.
Waist-deep water mixed with sewage from manholes and drains engulfed the area. To make things worse, there was power outage leading to poor visibility. Some trucks hit the completely submerged road divider and got stranded, causing severe traffic congestion.
It was a nightmarish experience for traders and their customers in Sultanpet, especially around Srinivasachar Street, where filthy water gushed into the shops and submerged many vehicles.
The traders blamed the poor drainage system in the main business area for the flooding.
Sajjanraj Mehta, a local trader, lambasted the civic agencies for being ill-equipped to meet such contingencies. “The side drains are not covered and they are completely choked with filth and garbage. As a result, flooding happens in the City,” he said.
He said the civic agencies had failed on all fronts, be it power supply, drinking water supply, solid waste management, maintenance of roads and footpaths, fast transport and communication, illumination of streets at night, protection of greenery, disposal of sewage. “Nobody offers any feasible solution to the problems lurking the City,” he said.
Another trader, Mahadev Prasad, said the flooding was the direct effect of the garbage crisis in the City. “The drains are choked with filth. It is removed only when we make some noise, only to be dumped for months together near the drain till the next rain comes to choke the drain again.”
Ramchand, another trader, demanded that the BBMP involve the local traders to improve the civic amenities in the area to prevent flooding. “We had a similar problem when there was heavy rainfall a week ago,” he said.