look news india
The torrential rains that have been continuing for the last few days in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, and the rising water level of the Gomti River have taken a dire form. After the low-lying residential areas of the city, flood waters and severe waterlogging have now entered the most modern and high-profile expansion areas of Lucknow. Roads have taken the form of a river in the areas around the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana International Cricket Stadium located on Amar Shaheed Path and the Phoenix Palasio Mall located right next to it. Normal life has been completely disrupted due to heavy water logging around Gomti Nagar Extension, Sultanpur Road Connecting Cut and Ahimamau intersection. The flood-like situation in this premium commercial and sports corridor of the city has created panic among the local administration, municipal corporation and disaster management teams.
There is 3 to 4 feet of water flowing on the approach roads, main parking lots and service roads around Ikana Stadium and Palacio Mall. To prevent water leakage in the underground parking area of the mall, the administration and management are immediately preparing barriers by placing sandbags. The wheels of many vehicles have been submerged in water, due to which the vehicles are being shifted to safe higher places through cranes with the help of security guards and rescue teams. Special corridors have been created to safely evacuate customers and employees visiting the mall. At the same time, due to overflowing of the drainage system built around the Ekana Stadium complex, the road in front of Gate No. 1 and 2 of the stadium has been completely submerged, due to which concerns regarding the upcoming sports events and practice sessions have also increased.
Due to waterlogging on Shaheed Path, the speed of traffic going from Kanpur Road towards Ayodhya Road and Sultanpur Road has completely stopped. Heavy vehicles and cars were seen stuck in the water near Ahimamau underpass and Palacio Cut, causing a massive traffic jam several kilometers long. Lucknow Traffic Police has issued an advisory appealing to the commuters to avoid Palacio-Ikana stretch of Shaheed Path and use alternative routes like Cantt, Telibagh or Rae Bareli Road. Apart from this, due to backwater filling in the lower apartments of Sector-4, 6 and 7 of Gomti Nagar Extension, River View Enclave and surrounding green belt, the residents of the societies are facing the problem of supply of milk, vegetables and daily essentials.
In view of the serious situation of floods and waterlogging, teams of Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC), Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) and Suez India are working on war footing 24 hours. More than 20 heavy-duty diesel pumping sets have been installed to rapidly discharge water from the Ekana and Palacio Mall area into the Gomati river and main drains. Municipal Commissioner and senior administrative officials reached ground zero and took stock of the situation of drainage blockage. All the gates of the Gomti river barrage have already been opened to reduce the pressure of backflow within the city. However, due to continuous release of huge amounts of water from the upper catchment areas of the river, the water level of Gomti remains close to the warning point, due to which the drainage water is taking time to drain out naturally.
As a precautionary measure, the district administration has kept NDRF and SDRF teams with motorboats on standby in Gomti Nagar Extension, Samta Moolak Chowk and Kachar areas so that citizens can be safely evacuated in case of any emergency. Lucknow District Magistrate has canceled the leaves of officers of all concerned departments and instructed them to remain in the field. The administration has issued a 24-hour flood control room and helpline number (0522-2615195/1920) for the convenience of the city residents. The Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for moderate to heavy rain in Lucknow and adjoining Awadh region in the next 24 to 48 hours, due to which the administration has strictly advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel on waterlogged roads and maintain a safe distance from electric poles and open wires.