Infrastructure development near the Power Board Colony in north Shastri Nagar has dealt a blow to the sewerage system, irking residents, naturally.

A number of residents near the Power Board Colony in north Shastri Nagar are living in a pitiable condition from the past few weeks after authorities blocked the drains in the area for construction of offices. Residents of Professors' Colony adjacent to Lanka Colony in the west Power Board Colony claimed that complaints made by them in this regard to the authorities have fallen on deaf ears.

To worsen matters, dengue cases are on the rise and people are naturally scared of the accumulated litter and waste. "The number of mosquitoes has increased manifold over the past few weeks owing to stagnant water in the drains adjacent to our houses," said Suresh Prasad Singh of Professors' Colony.

"It all started with the construction of offices of Power Grid Corporation of India and NTPC on barren land spread across 20 acres. Earlier, the wastewater coming out of our houses used to flow into a bigger drain going through the barren land, where the offices are getting constructed. However, the bigger drain was filled with soil and sand for constructing the new offices of Power Grid and NTPC. Thus, the water flowing through the drains along the houses in our colony has been blocked," said Ram Niranjan Choudhary, a resident.

The water remained stagnant for the past few weeks and It was difficult for us to even enter our houses," said Paras Nath Mishra, another resident of Professors' Colony.

Choudhary claimed that the overflowing drains are leading to damage to the houses as well. "Apart from leading to spread of harmful diseases like dengue or skin-related ailments, the stagnant water coming from the drain is also a threat to the concrete structure in our houses. The authorities are not paying heed to my complaints to resolve this," said Choudhary.

An officials claimed that corrective actions are being taken. "I visited the site three days ago and issued instructions to unclog the drain near Professors' Colony. The exit points of the drains on the eastern side of the construction area have been cleaned in the past two days. I asked NTPC officials to ensure the drains coming from the neighbouring residential areas are provided outlet," said Kedar Baitha, chief engineer, Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited.