Nagpur: Torrential rain on Tuesday brought the arterial Besa-Ghoghli Road to a standstill as roads near nullah crossings were submerged under near waist-high water, stranding motorists and disrupting traffic for hours. Locals blamed decorative embankments built by the Besa-Pipla Nagar Panchayat for the flooding, claiming the Public Works Department (PWD) had repeatedly warned the local body about their consequences.The worst flooding occurred around nullah bridges, where overflowing stormwater spilled onto roads after being unable to flow freely through the nullahs. Several stretches resembled streams as vehicles crawled through the fast-moving water.TOI had earlier reported that PWD had cautioned the Nagar Panchayat that the decorative embankments along the bridges were obstructing the natural flow of stormwater. According to the department, the structures reduced the discharge capacity of the nullahs and could trigger waterlogging during intense rain. Despite the warning, the embankments remained in place.Defending the structures, Besa-Pipla Nagar Panchayat vice-president Naresh Bhoyar said the embankments were designed with outlets to allow water to pass through. “Waste and debris carried by the water clogged the outlets, resulting in waterlogging. We will intensify nullah cleaning to ensure such blockages do not recur,” he told TOI.However, Nagar Panchayat chief officer Bharat Nandanwar attributed the flooding primarily to the bridge’s low height rather than the embankments. “The main issue is the bridge itself. We have already deepened the nullah, but the bridge is too low. Even after cleaning and desilting, flooding remains a possibility during heavy rain. The only permanent solution is to reconstruct the bridge at a higher level,” he said.With more rain forecast in the coming weeks, residents fear similar flooding unless immediate corrective measures, including regular desilting, removal or redesign of the embankments, or reconstruction of the bridge, are taken.
