Bihar CM Nitish Kumar orders high-level meeting to review waterlogging

The Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has called for a high-level meeting of Ministers and senior officials on Monday, October 14, to review the reason behind unprecedented waterlogging in some areas in Patna amid the incessant rainfall from September 27 to 30. The areas that suffered waterlogging include posh areas of Patna such as Rajendra Nagar, Kankarbagh and Patalipura Colony.

The meeting would be attended by the state's deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, urban development and housing department (UDHD) minister Suresh Sharma, chief secretary Deepak Kumar and principal secretaries of all leading departments. The venue for the meeting will be held in the Samvad auditorium of the CM secretariat.

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According to reports, the CM has asked the UDHD to mention specific details and reasons for the waterlogging that continued for more than a week in areas like Rajendra Nagar and Kankarbagh. The UDHD department has also been asked to come up with a solid work-plan for proper draining out of the rainwaters from low-lying areas as well as some newly developed areas in the state capital.

Earlier on Thursday, the Urban Development and Housing Department (UDHD) Minister Suresh Kumar Sharma constituted an investigation team to identify the causes and culprits of waterlogging in Patna.  A three-member investigation team has been set up to probe the case. The Ministry has asked the committee for the report in seven days and in 15 days, action will be announced against the culprits.

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The three-member investigation team includes Sanjay Kumar, Special Secretary of UDHD, beside Managing Director of Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (BUIDCO) Amrendra Prasad Singh and Commissioner of Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) Amit Kumar Pandey. According to reports, the Municipal Development Minister has been blaming BUIDCO and Patna Municipal Corporation for waterlogging. Due to severe waterlogging and no proper drainage of water for more than a week, the people had to face a lot of difficulties.

The Ministry also said that the report must contain the names of the area-wise engineer responsible for the waterlogging. They have also asked the committee to inspect all the 38 sump houses in the city. the reports containing the list of equipment purchased by the PMC for cleaning the drains and sanitation works are also to be included in the report. Local people and ward councillors have also been instructed to talk in this regard, as per reports.

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Bihar floods

Apart from Patna, low-lying areas like Kankarbagh, Rajendra Nagar, Gardani Bagh, Dak Bungalow and SK Puri have also been submerged in water due to heavy rainfall and choked sewage. 22 NDRF teams had been working round the clock and rescued more than 10,000 people from flood-affected regions with rescue teams rowing people across the flooded roads in inflated boats. Indian Air Force helicopters were deployed to drop relief material in flood-affected areas. The stagnant water also required combatting to mitigate the risk of a disease outbreak.

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