Patiala: Residents of Nabha have alleged inadequate desilting of drains ahead of the monsoon and accused officials of ignoring repeated complaints.Residents have uploaded videos on social media showing clogged drains and have lodged several complaints with the Patiala deputy commissioner. One video also shows an argument between locals and the contractor handling the work.On Tuesday, residents of Ward 13 again approached the DC, seeking action against officials. Advocate Reetiqbal Singh of Ward 7 said he had submitted a complaint on June 10 but had seen no improvement and claimed parts of the drain along Cinema Road remained uncleared.Naresh Sharma of Ward 13 alleged that several stretches claimed to have been cleaned were still choked with silt. Other residents, including Nirmal Singh and Aman Bansal, said even moderate rain could trigger waterlogging if the drain from Jatta Wala Baas to Chhajju Bhatt was not desilted properly.Municipal council sources said desilting of three main drains was being carried out at a cost of about Rs 8.5 lakh. Cleaning of the drain from Munna Lal Kanda to Chhajju Bhatt has been approved separately at an estimated cost of Rs 10 lakh.Officials said contract-based desilting had been reduced this year and several drains would be cleaned by municipal staff. Residents, however, said work on these drains had not begun.After the complaints, Nabha assistant municipal engineer Amit Kumar Dureja visited the sites and assured residents that desilting would be completed. SDM A P S Somal said the municipal executive officer would be asked to address the issue, while executive officer Gurcharan Singh said the junior engineer concerned would be directed to monitor the work more closely.
