Srinagar, July 20: The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Monday said heavy rainfall exceeded the city’s drainage capacity, prompting authorities to activate dewatering stations, deploy mobile pumps and field teams and intensify efforts to tackle waterlogging across Srinagar.
Speaking to reporters in Jammu, SMC Commissioner Fazlul Haseeb said the city witnessed a sudden spell of intense rainfall over two hours, resulting in widespread waterlogging in several areas.
“The rainfall was more than our drainage capacity. We have identified almost 60 hotspots in the city and teams are being deployed wherever required,” Haseeb said.
He said teams from the City Drainage, S&D-II and Mechanical Drainage divisions were pressed into service immediately after the rainfall.
The Commissioner said dewatering stations are operating continuously in areas where permanent pumping infrastructure is available, while mobile dewatering pumps are being deployed at locations where water is not receding.
He said the broader issue of whether the city’s drainage infrastructure matches its growing requirements is a separate discussion, adding that the immediate priority is to effectively manage the situation over the next three days.
Haseeb said all dewatering stations, mobile pumps and field teams have been kept on alert, while the SMC’s control room is functioning round the clock to receive public complaints.
He urged residents facing waterlogging to contact the control room so that response teams can be dispatched without delay. “All three divisions-City Drainage, S&D-II and Mechanical Drainage are on the ground and responding wherever required,” he added. (KNO)
