Srinagar, July 23: Heavy spell of rain in the summer capital in morning today caused waterlogging in many areas here.
Locals and traders said that within an hour of rains, various markets in Lal Chowk and its adjoining areas were waterlogged severely affecting normal life.
Social media was flooded with videos of waterlogged areas of Srinagar. Many areas including Palladium lane, Maisuma, TRC, MA Road, and Residency Road were waterlogged.
Traders said due to waterlogging, they were unable to open their shops.
“We were shocked by waterlogging in city centre areas. Most of the roads were waterlogged and water even entered our shops. This is failure of authorities that our drainage system is not being fixed,” said a shopkeeper at Maisuma.
Greater Kashmir received complaints from various areas of Srinagar about waterlogging. The areas include many uptown areas like Batamaloo, Natipora, Bemina, HMT and Shalteng.
The residents of these areas said that they faced inconvenience due to waterlogging issues in their areas.
“Unless our drainage network is not fixed, there will be waterlogging after rains,” said Shahid Ahmed from Bemina area. The residents said that new colonies established over the years on city outskirts don’t have a proper drainage system and the areas are prone to waterlogging.
“Authorities should only allow new construction when there is a proper drainage system. Waterlogging at Bemina and other areas where new colonies have been established is persistent issue. We hope that authorities will take care of these issues and fix them properly,” said Ishfaq Ahmed from HMT area.
Muhammad Ashraf, Compost officer at SMC said that they pressed their men and machinery in city centre areas.
“Waterlogging was cleared from Lal Chowk, MA Road and other areas. We also received calls about waterlogging from other areas and the issue was addressed accordingly,” he said