Strong winds and rain lashed the city on Friday evening, signalling the end of horrid summer and bringing much respite for denizens from the scorching heat at the same it also once again exposed the poor civic infrastructure in the city.
The overflowing open drains added to people’s woes. Vehicular traffic was thrown out of gear in several areas in the central part of the city as almost all the roads were waterlogged. .
A traffic police official said the water logging was mainly due to the outdated drainage system.
The way in which the de-silting work of maintenance of drainage system is progressing presents a dreary picture. While the GHMC limits have nearly 1,500 km of storm water drains, de-silting works have been taken up on around 750 km, and these works have not been completed yet.
On Thursday, GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar directed officials to complete the work of maintenance of drainage system and send a daily report to him.
Even after the works are completed, there will not be much difference as the stormwater drains are neither wide enough nor sufficient in length to serve the city’s requirement. With the current width, the drains will overflow if the city receives more than 1.2 cm of rain in one hour.