Swirling rain waters give sleepless night to residents

A day after the video of roaring rain water sweeping away push carts of fruit vendors and vehicles on Venkatagiri Road and Sabir Road in Yousufuguda went viral, life returned to normalcy.“The water re

A day after the video of roaring rain water sweeping away push carts of fruit vendors and vehicles on Venkatagiri Road and Sabir Road in Yousufuguda went viral, life returned to normalcy. “The water reached up to knee level. We could not sleep at night as the water came in two directions and flooded our house,” says Venkatratnam, who lives in the lane abutting Sabir Road. The house is built next to a covered nullah. Right behind the house, a three-storey house has been built on the nullah. “The water bubbled and overflowed from the nullah here,” says Mr. Venkatratnam pointing to a hole as well gaps in the covering slabs of the water channel. A tea stall has also been built on the nullah. “People have dumped rocks in the sewage line. There are many blockages which cannot be removed with this machine,” said a civic worker trying to drain the rainwater mixed with sludge using a sewer-cleaning machine. “Even if the sewage line was functioning, it cannot take the load of water that comes downhill. This has become a regular feature for us,” said Bobby, a resident of the area. A pool of water with heaps of sand at many locations turned the road dangerous.