Raised roads block drainage, 1st rain floods shops, homes

Bhopal: Heavy rain lasting about an hour on Saturday night exposed Bhopal’s fragile drainage and raised questions about the quality of recently laid cement‑concrete (CC) roads.

Intersections turned into ponds and low‑lying areas were inundated with two to three feet of water as drains failed, and cleaning work proved incomplete.Newly built CC roads, raised half a foot to a foot above the original surface in many places, blocked natural runoff and channelled water into homes and shops.The worst flooding was reported on Hamidia Road, where the new road surface sits higher than shop fronts.

Drainage ducts filled quickly, forcing shopkeepers to spend hours bailing out water. Chhola Road saw house entrances lying below the road level, leaving residents to endure overnight flooding. The stretch from DIG Bungalow intersection to Geetanjali College Road also remained submerged for an extended period because the road sits above surrounding land and drainage was obstructed.Residents and business owners say they warned authorities during construction that raising the roadbed would divert rainwater into premises, but their objections were ignored.

Technical norms require removing the old road base to a set depth before laying CC; instead, in many locations only the top asphalt layer was removed and an eight‑ to ten‑inch concrete layer was poured directly over it. Repeated overlays raised road levels, leaving roadside houses and shops lower than the carriageway.Although water receded from most streets within hours, it left mud, silt and garbage across low‑lying areas.

Cleanup lagged, residents said, forcing pedestrians and two‑wheeler riders to navigate slippery, muck‑strewn streets. Karond colonies reported especially thick mud deposits that hampered movement.Officials defended the work. RL Verma, Engineer‑in‑Chief, PWD, said prescribed technical standards were followed and designs accounted for existing conditions. Varun Awasthi, Municipal Commissioner, said teams monitored waterlogging, ensured drainage where possible and were taking corrective measures in affected areas.