DEHRADUN: The civic infrastructure of Dehradun, including roads, drains, and streetlights, has not been able to keep up with rain spells this monsoon, say residents.
Complaints of potholes, overflowing sewage, roadside garbage and lack of functioning streetlights in prominent localities have been on the rise.
“The drainage system has failed. There is so much debris in the drains that it chokes the entire system. This should have been fixed before the onset of the monsoon. It’s the same story every year,” said Mahesh Bhandari, president, Doon Residents Welfare Front. Due to choked drains, rainwater entered houses in several localities on Wednesday.
“During monsoon, authorities won’t do any repairs. They ignore potholes,” said Mridul Bakshi, a resident. The poor condition of the roads is yet another public concern. “Lack of coordination among departments and their inability to involve the resident welfare associations is the biggest problem. Authorities have covered sidewalks with tiles. Now, when the underground gas pipeline will have to be laid, they will re-dig these stretches,” said Bhandari.
Overflowing garbage gets worse in rains, when the trash flows with the water. “Door-to-door collection takes place on time. But garbage strewn on city roads is a common sight and the bins are not emptied for days. During monsoon, these bins can easily become breeding grounds for mosquito larvae. Stray animals dive into these bins and create a mess,” said Arushi, a Dharampur resident. Residents also complained about inadequate fogging, even as the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) claims they are carrying out regular drives.
Meanwhile, residents of Sahastradhara Road, Rishi Nagar, DL Road and other neighbouring areas also faced power cuts on Tuesday and Wednesday when electric poles were impacted due to rain.
“Desilting of drains was done before the onset of the monsoon. However, debris from higher reaches of the state flow down the drains and blocks them. We have 10 quick response teams that are constantly working on desilting and clearing any blockages,” said Dr Avinash Khanna, chief health officer, DMC. Officials further said that garbage collection has been affected as the majority of the manpower is working on clearing drains but efforts are underway to regulate the system.
