Not a Smart City yet but Noida makes poor attempt to replicate Venice after Rain!
Ashish Kedia
After decades of its formation, change of governments, huge budget of Noida Authority and multiple promises of making a smart city, Noida finally managed to give feel of a foreign City, albeit to its citizen’s disappointment. Heavy downpour of Thursday morning made many Noida roads look like water streams. The city took its turn to replicate European city of Venice, minus everything but water streams.
Development façade falls on face:
Noida administrations preparedness for rains has clearly come under question after heavy downpour on Thursday morning caused major water-logging and long jams in multiple parts of the city. From Noida sector-63 industrial area to Sector-18 Atta market, residents, shopkeepers, industrialists, pedestrians to vehicle drivers, all had to face heavy inconvenience on account of water logging in different areas of Noida city.
Citizens Speak:
FONRWA member KK Jain said, “Sector 34 has immersed in water after first heavy rain itself. Due to bad drainage rain water got inside almost all apartments of sector 34. Power outage also happened soon after rain from 6 am. Roads are also jammed due to water logging. Authority must ensure that such things are not repeated in future”. 
NEFOMA President Annu Khan said, “What everyone had feared has actually happened today. One rain has brought out the ugly reality of Noida. Authority must take onus for it and should also clarify why it has become so hard to reach high officials”.
Suneel Dwivedi a resident of Delta-1 in Greater Noida and employed in Noida said, “Really very bad experience 2day, I had to park my car at Barco factory near Mamura Chowk, due to worst condition of all blocks of Sec63 in Noida industrial area. There is water logging everywhere. I have to take a hand rickshaw to reach the factory. It took me 3 hours 30 minutes to reach from Greater Noida to here. It shows very bad urban services and lack of planning at multiple levels”.
Reiterating the intensification of Jam Mr. Vinod Sharma said, “It took 30 minute to travel one kilometer in sector-65”.
Anita Singh who runs a business in Sector-18 said, “In Sec-18 all the shop has been flooded by the water. This is happening since new renovation took place in Sec-18. No proper planning has been done on how to safe guard the citizens who are paying taxes & are creating business for Noida. I am very disappointed to see this scenario being repeated after every heavy rain. 6″ water in the shops”.
Mr. Satyadev Yadav from Noida stressed, “I haven’t seen such disastrous situation in Noida before. Officers and engineers of Noida must think now. They are making it the worst city of India”.
