Waterlogging is occurring in all cities of the state, due to BJP government’s negligence: Kumari Selja

Chandigarh:

The General Secretary of
All India Congress Committee, former Union Minister, and MP from Sirsa Kumari Selja said that due to the negligence of the Haryana government and officials of the Public Health and Engineering Department, flood-like situations have arisen in almost all cities of the state including Sirsa during the very first monsoon rains. In many areas of the city, water has accumulated up to knee level, causing great hardship to the people. This situation has exposed corruption and negligence in the Amrut Yojana and Smart City projects, and the BJP government’s hollow development model has been washed away by the rains. Roads have developed potholes, colonies have turned into lakes, making daily life extremely difficult for common people.

In a statement released to the media, Kumari Selja said that the rains have revealed the truth about the BJP government’s so-called development works in Haryana. In a city like Sirsa, the government had constructed drainage projects costing approximately Rs. 38.76 crores under the AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) scheme, but the reality is that after the first rain itself, potholes have appeared on roads, colonies have turned into lakes, and the common people’s lives have become difficult. Pipelines in Sirsa city have been laid multiple times, but due to technical faults, poor construction, and bad design, the same waterlogging repeats every year. Despite spending crores of rupees, the Sirsa Municipal Council has not established any permanent drainage system. Similar situations are seen in cities like Gurugram, Faridabad, Karnal, Hisar, Rohtak, and Panipat, where Smart City projects worth crores are only on paper, and conditions on the ground remain unchanged. Will the Chief Minister and Urban Local Bodies Minister explain to the public why independent audits of the work done under AMRUT and Smart City schemes have not been conducted? How many contractors and officials have been held accountable?

Kumari Selja asked if the BJP government would answer why, despite spending huge budgets, the development is not visible on the ground? Why do people face waterlogging, potholes, and traffic jams every time it rains? The people of Haryana want to know for whom the BJP government’s development model is designed for common citizens or for contractors and corrupt systems?
Under the AMRUT project, pipelines worth about Rs. 38.76 crores are being laid. The project includes laying pipelines from Bal Bhavan to Hisar Road, which will further go to Rangoee Nala on Hisar Road. In the second phase, rainwater from Valmiki Chowk via B Block to Anaj Mandi and Dabwali Road will be drained into the Ghaggar river. Kumari Selja said that both projects are incomplete because they have not been connected to the water discharge points. Kumari Selja said that the administration and government only have projects to show the public, but everything on the ground is half done. Despite spending so much money, the municipal council has not been able to free the city from waterlogging.

MP Kumari Selja said that officials of NSAI have never paid attention to cleaning drains on National Highway-9, even though cleaning drains before the rains is essential. Officials have only shown drain cleaning on paper, but nothing has been done in reality. This is why waterlogging occurs on NH-9 during rains. NH-9 passes between villages Odhan and this rain caused two feet of waterlogging on the NH, causing major inconvenience. Vehicle drivers had to take alternate routes to travel to Sirsa and Dabwali. Officials are busy filling papers in their offices, and NH-9 is damaged in many places, but no repairs are being done.