“We have been receiving emergency calls from municipal officials with promises of double wages and prompt payment. But we do not trust them because of our experience in the past,” said one driver.
Many neighborhoods in the city are dotted with large pools of water that pose a threat to people’s health due to being breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other insects that spread diseases such as dengue fever.
The municipality’s control room has received 1,242 urgent calls recently, mostly from people complaining of waterlogged neighborhoods. Residents in some areas are deeply worried about their children’s health and are draining their neighborhoods by paying tanker drivers themselves.
A municipality source said the body is not in a position to drain all pools of rainwater in residential areas because the focus is currently on dealing with main roads.
The municipality said in a statement it had sent 200 trucks to different districts, and is using 100 pumps and 1,000 workers to clean areas affected by the floods. A number of insecticide spraying trucks are also visiting various districts in the city.
