India, Aug. 4 -- For the past seven months, police personnel of the Khajuri Khas police station have taken to a strange ritual: taking off their shoes, holding them in their hands, stepping on a cement slab and scaling a 10-15-feet-high wall. However, this is far from a superstition; it is a necessity born out of constant knee-deep waterlogging of the Khajuri Thana Road and the area adjoining Shree Ram Colony.

Rain or no rain, an overflowing sewer line in the area has turned into a menace to everyone here.

During a visit by HT last Friday morning, policemen were seen parking their bikes and busesnear National Highway 709B, rolling up their trousers and walking on the footpath to reach the police station. But, once at the entrance, their...