With the weathermen forecasting rainy days ahead, the ongoing excavation works on roads across the country are giving worries to motorists. Many roads where excavation works are progressing are highly prone to waterlogging. What worries motorists more are the dug up roads at sites where work has been suspended for long. Come rain, these roads would be inundated in no time, and they would turn into death traps for commuters. Residents are also worried about lurking dangers on some busy roads. Ras Abu Aboud Road, Mamoura, Najma, Doha Jadeed, Al Ghanem, Fareej Abdul Azia, Musheirib and Airport Road are some of the areas where deep excavation works are going on. Roads leading to the suspended February 22 Street project also pose a potential threat to commuters on rainy days. Adding to the woes is Qatar’s poor drainage system, say some experts in the construction sector. Mohammed Kithouh, an engineering consultant, feels that Qatar has to shift away from its traditional way of combating waterlogging. The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) is still following the traditional pattern of a network system. It must re-design the system according to the changing weather pattern of Qatar, he said. Qatar has also to go a long way in developing an effective drainage network. In some areas, he added, the drainage network was not connected to the main network. A heavy rain often leads to the overflowing of drains in many areas. “These days Qatar’s roads are not properly maintained, leading to deep gutters and gaping holes on many roads. The roads are often responsible for road mishaps during the rainy days in Qatar”, said another resident, who is an engineer by profession. Nadr Ahmed, another engineering expert, said: “Since Qatar’s road designing is not essentially pedestrian-friendly, any possible waterlogging would pose problems for motorists as well as pedestrians. The situation is worse in some interior roads. The authorities must give extra attention to draining out the water instantly, he said. Qatar must give priority to timely draining out of rain water, he said. The country has been witnessing a fluctuating weather pattern over the past few years, and the authorities must put in place a system that is capable of managing high rainfall. However, a committee that would monitor measures against waterlogging in Qatar said all necessary arrangements had been made to combat any possible problems during the rainy days. Abdul Hadi Al Kuwari, chairman of the panel, said the committee had identified 5,000 areas prone to waterlogging in Doha and outside the city. Ashghal has been asked to take action to instantly drain out these areas in case of inundation, he said. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=December2009&file=Local_News2009120671829.xml

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