Water blockage and construction of an underpass in Sultanpete is costing traders and vendors time and money.
Sultanpete, the city’s core, was swamped withwaist-deep sewage water from manholes and drains, after heavy rains in the past fewdays. The traders blame the poor drainage system in the areas of Chickpete and Sultanpete.
Due to heavy rains, Chinnatambi, a vendor in Chickpete, said that they have to evacuate the area and leave the goods covered in plastic. “Because of the water clogging, clearing the roads can take up to two to three hours, causing us to lose a lot of time,” he said.
The water from drainage and rainwater reaches knee height, according to Panditji, who runs a shop in Sultanpete. “Due to rainfall, the market is set up only once in a while. It is quite difficult to clear the water due to blocked roadways, and it takes around three hours. The general people and vendors suffer greatly since they must travel through waters that are knee-high to waist-high,” he said.
Customers have started avoiding the market in the neighbourhood due to the overflowing sewage, which is affecting the traders’ business. “We are already losing a lot of customers due to rain. And the blocked roads make it a double whammy,” said Sonu, a shop owner in Sultanpete.
Tamilarasi, a fruit vendor in Chickpete, pointed out that the water clogging is also caused by the underpass being constructed near the market. She said that they have notified the BBMP about the issue, and they replied that once the underpass project is completed they will look into the roads and drainages of the area. “The construction of under-pass is going on for more than a year now,” she added.
B S Prahalad, Chief Engineer (Road and Infrastructure), BBMP, said, “There is an increase in population and even though the roads are narrow, there are buildings with three to four storeys. Hence, the roads get choked due to overloading of the existing sewage network.”
From the administrative point of view, they have to go on increasing the diameter of the drainage pipeline. B S Prahlad said that they have taken the massive project of increasing the diameter of the pipelines from six inches to nine inches. The work is in progress and almost 90 percent has been completed.
Furthermore, he added that, “The area of drainage is being used as a street.. It is the responsibility of people as well as administration to maintain the place.”
