LUCKNOW, Aug. 23 -- After Friday evening's heavy rain flooded the 900-metre Park Road stretch connecting Kalidas Marg to Hazratganj crossing with rainwater accumulating inside the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Civil) Hospital, commercial basements, diagnostic centres, and other establishments, HT's ground visit on Saturday found clogged drainage lines, silt,and waterlogged footpath ramps along the stretch, even hours after the showers had stopped. The situation has arisen despite the Chief Minister's Green Road Infrastructure Development (Urban) Scheme (CM-GRID), which aims to tackle Lucknow's recurring waterlogging through improved stormwater drainage, sewer lines, and integrated road infrastructure. Though the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) spent over Rs 19 crores under the CM-GRID funds to improve facilities, the ground reality showed a different picture. The situation has raised questions over whether the newly executed drainage infrastructure can handle heavy rainfall and whether existing drainage lines were damaged during CM-GRID works. The project envisages coordinated development of roads along with stormwater drains, sewer lines, footpaths, street lighting, greenery, traffic management, and underground utilities. HT found that instead of widening the drain, the civic body had increased its height. When the issue was raised with ward corporator Nagendra Singh Chauhan, he said the same stretch had also witnessed severe waterlogging around five years ago. "We had placed broad pipelines and connected them with the drain so that rainwater could pass through them and waterlogging could be avoided," Chauhan said. He, however, suspected that the lines may have been damaged during the execution of CM-GRID works, resulting in the recurrence of waterlogging. When it was pointed out to him that the CM-GRID project was specifically intended to improve drainage and prevent such problems, Chauhan said corporators were not being adequately consulted. "No one is listening to the corporators. The works are being carried out according to the LMC officials," he said. The civic body has now started taking additional measures along the stretch. LMC chief engineer (civil) Mahesh Verma, who is also overseeing CM-GRID works, said new provisions were being made at the Park Road stretch to facilitate the movement of rainwater. "Broad holes are being made to avoid waterlogging," Verma said. When asked why additional provisions were required when the CM-GRID project itself was planned to resolve waterlogging, Verma said officials had examined different aspects that could contribute to water accumulation. When contacted, divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant said, "I shall get it checked and verified and try to resolve the complaint. I will talk to the municipal commissioner." Dr GP Gupta, director of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Civil) Hospital, attributed the waterlogging inside the hospital premises to ongoing sewerage and road construction works. He said sewerage work was underway inside the hospital campus, while road construction outside the facility had restricted the drainage of rainwater and left no proper outlet for the accumulated water. Gupta said waterlogging occurred particularly around areas used by OPD patients and the old block following heavy rainfall on Friday evening. The hospital administration used pumping sets to completely drain the accumulated water from the campus and restore movement for patients and attendants. Abhimanyu, a shopkeeper operating close to Civil Hospital, said his shop was located on an upper floor and therefore remained unaffected, but the basement was completely flooded.Shopowners subsequently had to look for vacant spaces to park their vehicles. Deepak Dixit, a diagnostic centre owner, said he had never witnessed such severe waterlogging at the stretch earlier. He said rainwater completely flooded the basement of his diagnostic centre. HT's Saturday inspection found drainage points choked with silt and waste. Workers were clearing the lines even as pedestrians had to negotiate footpaths partly occupied by the removed silt. The ground visit also found two-wheelers, vendors, and shopkeepers' materials occupying portions of the footpaths, forcing pedestrians to use the road....