PRAYAGRAJ, Aug. 21 -- The Allahabad high court on Thursday directed district authorities to clear waterlogged areas in Prayagraj within 24 hours. The bench comprising Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Garima Prashad issued the directives in a suo motu public interest litigation, taking note of poor civic condition of the city which had become waterlogged due to incessant rain recently. Prayagraj municipal commissioner Seelam Sai Teja said rainwater in low-lying areas would be pumped out very soon. He also said sanitation work would be carried out to prevent health hazards. "The duty of Municipal Commissioner is to ensure and supervise that enough water pumps are installed in all those areas where waterlogging is still there so that the rain water is pumped out from those areas within the next 24 hours," the court said. "Whatever number of pumps are required shall be obtained from the U.P. Jal Nigam (Urban) Prayagraj and if U.P. Jal Nigam (Urban) Prayagraj is not even having sufficient pumps then it will be the duty of the State Government to ensure that requisite number of pumps are made available within 12 hours from today," it added. The court directed the municipal commissioner to file an affidavit before the next hearing on August 25. The affidavit must provide ward-wise and area-wise details of waterlogging. It must also state whether drains were desilted before the monsoon and provide a plan for cleaning underground drains near Jawahalal Nehru Road, George Town and Sohabatiyabagh areas of the city. Additional advocate general Manish Goel submitted a personal affidavit of the secretary, urban planning and development regarding a long-term plan for storm water management based on a December 2024 notification and an apex level committee has been formed for project implementation. To assist in the matter, the court appointed senior advocate Rakesh Pande as amicus curiae....