Jaipur: The accident on Jaipur Ring Road, which led to the deaths of seven individuals, including two minors, when their vehicle skidded into a waterlogged underpass on Sunday, has raised serious concerns about the condition of underpasses in the city.Engineers reveal that out of 15 underpasses, only three – Laxmi Mandir Tiraha, Transport Nagar, and Dadi Ka Phatak – are equipped with pumps to manage waterlogging, and none have generators to function during power outages. “Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) recently installed pumps and generators at Nandapuri and Shivanand Marg underpasses in Malviya Nagar. These systems will soon be operational. But for the rest, there is an urgent need for improved infrastructure to prevent such tragedies in the future,” a JDA official stated. Officials claimed that for two underpasses – the railway underpass near the B2 Bypass Crossing and the Gurjar Ki Thadi underpass – there is no need for any such infrastructure. “Both facilities have a gradient slope along with good drainage facilities. The chances of waterlogging are very low at these two underpasses,” stated a JDA engineer. However, there are problems with the rest of the underpasses, especially the JK Phatak Underpass, which is most prone to waterlogging. JDA engineers stated that mainly because of three reasons, these underpasses were not equipped with pump and generator facilities. First, these are old, and at the time of construction, the concept of such gadgets was not there. Second, in most cases, the infrastructure lacks space for the installation of pumps and generators. Third, at Laxmi Mandir or Transport Nagar, the engineers have installed pumps but did not find space to install generators. “The alternative to this problem is to be proactive and keep the drainage system of the underpass clean so that water in large quantities can pass through the line easily. This year, we did this to great effect. Despite Jaipur witnessing heavy rainfall, except for the Nandapuri underpass, there were no complaints of waterlogging at any of the underpasses,” stated an engineer.
Accident highlights lack of water pumps at underpasses | Jaipur News
