City knee-deep in problems

A staff member from Hobart School for Girls said that the Corporation officials had started pumping the water off the streets and on to the school playground. “This is the first time that such an incident is occurring. To keep the streets free from water stagnation, the excess water is being pumped into our playground, causing us grave concern,” said the source. 

A Corporation official conceded that the water was briefly pumped into the school. “We have to remove the overflow from the road, due to which water diverted to the school playground. But we had to stop it shortly, as the school officials objected,” said the official, adding, that it was later cleared from the premises. 

White’s Road does not have a functional storm water drain, forcing the Corporation workers to pump out the water to the nearest drain. “The height of the road has gone up, due to which the drain does not function properly. The water should go from Pattulos Road towards Binny Road, and then to the Buckingham Canal. But that has not happened. Our priority was to remove the water and discharge it to the nearest storm water drain. We pumped out the water and released it in the drain which is on the other side of the road,” said another senior official. 

While most drains in the extended areas are new, the core city has old storm water drains, which have a host of problems, stated the senior official. “This particular drain was affected due to relaying of bus route roads. We have already alerted that this particular drain needs to be repaired,” said the official.