Nagpur: Rapid urban expansion along the banks of the Nag, Pili, and Pora rivers in north, east and south Nagpur has exposed hundreds of new settlements dangerously to flooding due to absence of retaining walls. Alarmed by the threat, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has submitted a proposal seeking Rs57 crore from the state govt under its flood mitigation scheme to construct retaining walls across these high-risk zones, confirmed NMC’s chief engineer Manoj Talewar.While the state govt approved the NMC proposal “in principle,” it has not yet released the funds. The proposal identifies areas such as Pardi, Punapur, Kalamna, Wanjra, Wathoda and Narsala, where homes have come up perilously close to riverbanks with no retaining walls constructed by either the NMC or the Nagpur Improvement Trust. These areas have repeatedly witnessed waterlogging and flood-like situations during heavy rainfall. Earlier this month, even with relatively low rainfall, many of these localities were inundated, underscoring the urgency of the situation. Official sources say the Rs57 crore proposal includes construction of new walls. “If this fund isn’t released before peak monsoon, we are staring at another disaster,” said a senior official from NMC’s public works department.Residents of the vulnerable zones live in constant fear. “Even a moderate downpour turns our homes into islands,” said a resident of Punapur, who lost household belongings in last year’s floods. “How many times do we need to plead for a protection wall?” Civic officials fear that a single spell of intense rain could mirror the devastation caused by the September 2023 flash floods that ravaged parts of the city. The calamity saw large sections of the retaining walls along the three rivers crumble, especially downstream of the Ambazari dam and along the Nag river. Several properties were submerged, and public anger erupted after the NMC failed to reconstruct the damaged flood barriers. Despite the state govt sanctioning Rs204.72 crore in February 2024, including Rs163.23 crore specifically for riverbank protection works, execution has been abysmally slow.NMC issued work orders worth Rs154.42 crore, but only Rs86.63 crore was disbursed so far which the civic body has utilized. The civic body urged the divisional commissioner to release the remaining Rs70.26 crore to complete the pending works and clear dues to contractors. The funds are pending, effectively halting flood prevention works. Consequently, citizens affected due to the September 2023 floods have sought intervention of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.
