Noida authority directs health department to clean drains by June 20

Amit Mohan Prasad, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Noida authority, has directed the health department to clean all drains in the city by June 20 before the onset of monsoon.

The directive holds significance as drains in the city remain clogged at the onset of monsoon and rainwater overflows into residential areas, causing a number of internal roads to go under water.

Residential areas in Sector 63 bears the brunt of the waterlogging, as the drainage network in the area is faulty. Last year, during monsoon, motorists got stuck in traffic jams, often stretching up to 4-5 hours, due to extensive waterlogging.

The CEO has made it clear to officials that they will be held responsible and action will be taken if they do not take necessary measures to clear the drains and check waterlogging.

The health department is leaving no stone unturned to complete the cleaning work before June 20.

“Our drain cleaning drive is on in full swing. The work is on in areas including sectors 50, 51, 25, 26, 126 and 24. We are using earth movers and other machines as we want to finish the job by June 20. We have been directed by the top officials to unclog all drains before the onset of monsoon. We hope to finish the job on time,” Raghunandan Singh Yadav, senior project engineer of the Noida authority, said.

The Noida authority is the custodian of 17km irrigation drain passing through the city. Another 13 small drains are connected to the main drain, which empties itself into River Yamuna, near Sector 150-68. The irrigation drain originates from Delhi’s East area and merges into the Yamuna at Sector 150-168.

“We will clean the irrigation drain and smaller drains to ensure that rainwater finds its way into the Yamuna and doesn’t cause flooding in residential areas. We don’t want residents to be troubled by waterlogging. Our primary focus is not to let rainwater settle in residential areas,” Yadav said.

Sectors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 28, 29, 12, 39, 63 and 50, among others, battle extensive waterlogging every year due to a fault in the gradient of the drainage network, the officials said.

“We hope, this year, the authority will take adequate steps to ensure there’s no waterlogging in Noida,” NP Singh, president, Federation of Noida RWAs, said.