Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 25: Heavy rains lashed Srinagar this morning leading to inundation of roads and water entering some localities.
The water entered into nearly half a dozen shops in the recently refurbished Polo View market in the Civil Lines area of the city.
Shopkeepers were taken aback when they arrived in the morning to find their establishments partially submerged in rainwater.
Despite the claims made by the authorities ruling out any drainage failure, the affected shopkeepers demanded better measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
Tariq Ahmad, one of the impacted shopkeepers, expressed his shock over the situation. He said that in his nearly 50 years of experience, he had never witnessed anything like this before. “The water had already reached a few inches inside the shops, causing significant damage to the merchandise.”
He estimated the losses to be in lakhs, leaving the shop owners in distress. “The losses are massive. It’s great that they renovated the market, but they should have ensured a proper passage for rainwater,” he lamented.
Upon receiving reports of the situation, the authorities rushed to the scene to assess the extent of the damage. Among them was Commissioner of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and CEO of Srinagar Smart City, Athar Amir.
He addressed the media and sought to clarify that there was no issue with the drainage system. “There are only three shops affected by the water, and it appears to be a result of some puncture in the old drain situated at the back of the market. This allowed the water to seep into the shops,” he added
Despite the authorities’ assurance, the affected shopkeepers argue that the situation could have been averted with better planning and maintenance of drainage systems.
The rain water inundated roads in Bemina, Qamarwari, Zoonimar, Eidgah, Jawahar Nagar, Rajbagh areas of Srinagar. The water also entered some localities including Bemina.
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