RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Water accumulated in the streets of the city of Raqqa in northern Syria after every rainfall haunts the residents as it makes life unbearable.
Nawras al-Mufdhi, 35, a man lives in Basel Street in Raqqa, complains about poor water drainage in his neighborhood with the advent of winter. Water accumulates making potholes that do not dry for long days.
Locals of Raqqa suffer from poor water drainage whose vast majority are out of work making potholes in all streets.
Al-Mufdhi said, the drainage at his neighborhood is very old, and the municipality provides emergency solutions that soon fail on the ground.
“With the first drops of rainfall, drainage becomes out of commission,” al-Mufdhi added.
“Maintenance of drainage should be a priority by the municipality especially in winter.”
The man called on competent bodies to maintain drainage system to serve in a better way.
He pointed out that the vast majority of drainage in the city is without manhole covers, “They have been stolen by greedy people to be sold as spare parts as iron is sold in exchange for high prices.”
For this reason, the municipality has made cement-made covers which usually break owing to heavy loads of trucks. They also impeded drainage.
However, with no manhole covers, dirt and soil find their way easily into conduits as the municipality is short of actions of maintenance and cleaning.
Abu Abdulsalam al-Ajaji, 62, from the city of Raqqa said the neighborhood he lives in suffers from lack of drainage system, “even those assumed operating are impeded.”
Al-Ajaji finds it difficult to walk in the street saying locals bear in part the responsibility of the current situation of the streets that have become pools of water. However, the officials bear the vast part of responsibility in serving locals because consumed water have no drainage canals.
Owing to gathering of water in the streets, people are faced with difficulties while insects find it a breeding ground for reproduction. With the passage of time, such an environment produce hellish smells.
Al-Ajaji said the issue of drainage in the city has turned from a right of the locals of the city to a “wish they want to come true.”
From his part, co-chair of the Sanitation Office of the Peoples’ Municipality of Raqqa, Hassam Kalo, said they replaced the old drainage system in a number of neighborhoods of Raqqa with new ones.
With the first drops of water Abdulmun’eim al-Khedr, 53, said, “Drainage is very bad, and all subways in the neighborhood need to be crumbed. Passersby find it difficult to walk on the street.”