Rajeev Nagar residents have been living in a slush pool for more than a month.

Ever since the rains descended on Patna, this part of the city, which is merely 7km from Patna Municipal Corporation, has been under water.

Poor drainage has inundated road number-23 of ward number-1 of Rajeev Nagar. A good portion of the low-lying area that falls on road number-23 has turned into a "blackwater" pool. The situation is so severe that the water now stinks. The stagnate water has fuelled concerns about exposure to dengue, as Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, which carry the virus, breeds in stagnate water.

According to people who stay in the area, the drainage system was constructed in 2016 but it was made improperly and finally caved in. The damaged drain in the low-lying area overflows during monsoon and this results in water accumulation.

Dhiraj Bind, 33, one of the residents, said continuous stench from the stagnate water has made the area unliveable. "This is happening for the past two years but the authorities have not taken any step," he said, adding that some residents were adding to the problem by dumping waste in the standing water.

Another resident Manoj Khesari said: "We have raised the issue with the ward councillor so many times but he has done nothing. Dengue thrives in such a mess and it would be no surprise if dengue cases are reported from our locality. The Patna Municipal Corporation should take responsibility if it happens."

Khesari said when the area was under water earlier, the councillor had installed motor pumps to drain out excess water. "But this year this has not been done."

Ward councillor Chhathiya Devi said she had written several letters to the executive officer of New Capital circle and municipal commissioner to repair the drain under road number-23.

"The District Urban Development Authority (DUDA) had made the drain in 2016 before the 2017 PMC elections. I was not the councillor of the ward that time. After taking charge, I got to know that the drain made had caved in and it was not repaired. The area gets waterlogged because of the overflowing drain," she said.

Chhathiya said improper drainage was inundating other areas of the ward too. "We have asked the PMC to provide two motor pumps so that we can use it on road number-23 too. It will take two days to flush out the entire water from the area if the pumps work for two days. If it rains, the situation would worsen," she said.

The executive officer of New Capital circle of the PMC, Shailesh Kumar, said: "As part of temporary measure, we would provide motor pumps to remove stagnate water from the area," he said.