Lucknow, Sep 14 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh government has suspended an executive engineer of Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Urban) over waterlogging in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, after state minister AK Sharma inspected the affected areas.
According to an official statement issued here on Monday, the action was taken against Executive Engineer Pawan Kumar Gupta, posted in the Construction Division (Civil/Mechanical), after an initial inquiry found lapses.
The development came as an FIR was lodged on the complaint of Varanasi Municipal Corporation against unidentified persons after sacks filled with sand were allegedly found inside a main sewer line during a sanitation drive to address waterlogging, with the city Mayor, Ashok Tiwari, calling it a “conspiracy”.
A departmental inquiry has also been instituted against Gupta under Rule 7 of the Uttar Pradesh Government Servant (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1999, the statement said.
The state government has made it clear that negligence in matters related to public facilities will not be tolerated at any level and responsible officials will be held accountable, it said.
A prima facie inquiry against Gupta revealed that the required assessment and action plan for installing necessary gates/barriers to prevent river backflow at the Chaukaghat Sewage Pumping Station had not been prepared.
In addition, the expected action was not taken in compliance with the directions of senior authorities. The inquiry also revealed that the pumps located at the Chaukaghat Sewage Pumping Station and the Goithaha STP were kept shut on September 3 and 4.
Due to the non-operation of pumps during heavy rainfall, excessive load was placed on the sewer lines, resulting in waterlogging in low-lying areas of the city.
This caused inconvenience to the general public and also affected the image of the department.
Urban Development Minister AK Sharma had conducted on-site inspections of waterlogging-affected areas during his visit to Varanasi on September 12 and 13.
He had directed officials to ensure drainage arrangements on a war footing and to ensure that the public did not face any f inconvenience.
During the inspection, he expressed displeasure over the waterlogging situation and had warned of strict action against officials found negligent.
At present, the government has attached Gupta, during the period of suspension, to the office of the Chief Engineer (Kanpur Region), Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Urban), Kanpur. PTI ABN RT RT RT RT
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.