Clueless civic officials, lazy citizens responsible for waterlogging, traffic woes in Pune: Ex-PMC chief Mahesh Zagade

“I will not blame the politicians for the mess Pune is in. I will instead blame the city’s fast-asleep citizens and clueless PMC officials for the nightmare that Pune has been witnessing during every rain,” Zagade told The Indian Express on Saturday.

According to Zagade, PMC officials have not been trying to find out the root of the illness besetting the city. “They (PMC officials) are neither trying to understand the illness nor to find a solution to the problem. They need to first understand what has been happening, and then try to find out the reason behind it. On both counts, PMC officials have been a big failure. Just doing nothing…”

Suggesting PMC to rope in new officials and come up with fresh ideas, Zagade said, “Some officials have been working for the same departments for years, yet they are not in a position to find a solution to the recurring problem (waterlogging). They seem to be least interested in untangling the city from such a serious problem.

They seem to be going through the motions of the civic job, while the city continues to suffer the pain year after year. We need officials who will act in the city’s interest at heart.”

After the IMD issued a “yellow” alert for Pune with 60 mm rain, but the city recorded 105 mm rain for two hours from 10 pm to midnight on Monday, Pune Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar had said, “It was more than the predicted rainfall and falls under the ‘very excess’ rainfall category… 65 mm is the limit for ‘excess’ rainfall. Stormwater drains are designed for 60 mm-65 mm rainfall, based on the records of 100 years.

The more than ‘excess’ rain led to waterlogging across the city. Also, mud and plastic flowing through the drains created obstruction in the flow of water. PMC was involved in resolving the issues round-the-clock… At some places, barricading for Metro rail work also obstructed the flow of rainwater.”

Zagade said that even “if the officials have been negligent, Pune residents should have been careful”. “Every time it rains, Pune is waterlogged and the traffic goes for a toss. Motorists are trapped on the roads for hours.

The same fate is endured by the citizens every year, yet, they do not raise their voice even as their own city has been heading towards devastation. Puneites keep mum for too long, and that is too dangerous for the health of the city and the future generations. There should be an awakening among the citizens. If this happens, the officialdoms will act, and that too decisively. Otherwise, they will continue to take Puneites for granted,” Zagade said, adding that the residents should “change” their mindset and “force” officials to do their job.

The former PMC commissioner also said that flash floods every monsoon have been due to the change in October phenomenon.

“The city has been recording flash floods for 10 years or so. But, how prepared are we to face flash floods? We know this is going to happen, yet, we seem to be least prepared for this… This time, it was yet again confirmed that the carrying capacity of stormwater drains and the drainage did not match the intensity of rain that lashed the city. PMC immediately needs to ensure that the natural flow of nullahs and other such sources of water are not affected; and nullahs are desilted and their smooth flow is not obstructed. This exercise, which needs to be undertaken much ahead of monsoon, does not seem to be happening. As a result, we have been witnessing flooded nullahs for years now.”

Emphasising that the city traffic police and the Pune Metro cannot be blamed for the waterlogging issues last week, Zagade said, “PMC officials have only been indulging in pointing fingers at others. Instead, they should look inward and introspect as to what they did and what they did not do. If they do a reality check, they will find out that they have been solely responsible for the current mess in Pune. The city traffic police or the Pune Metro cannot be blamed for the situation in the city. It is the PMC which has to control its own territory, by effectively monitoring the actions of each agency and controlling them. This is like shrugging responsibilities and trying to find scapegoats.”