One of the oldest buildings in the heart of Jamshedpur resembled a Venetian float house on Wednesday, courtesy city guardians who have blocked drains to widen roads.

The entrance to Bistupur's Bari Mansion - established in 1946 and formerly known as Mazdoor Papers Limited - was knee-deep in dirty water after several bouts of showers from 11.30am. While the happy rain-o-meter clocked 55mm till 5.30pm, employees and visitors at the commercial complex managed life with folded pants and shoes in hand.

The landmark three-storey building on the intersection of Bistupur Main Road and N-Road houses more than a dozen offices, shops and training institutes while the footfall on a busy week day crosses 500.

According to Sachidanand Paul, the proprietor of computer cradle Paul Academy on the second floor, the N-Road is part of an artery-widening project undertaken by Tata Steel subsidiary Jusco. The drain, which existed along the Bari Mansion flank, was dismantled for the project and never put back in place unlike the other drain near the Bistupur traffic outpost.

"Monsoon and heavy rain happen every year, but water-logging here is a first. The water recedes seven-eight hours after it stops raining and leaves behind ankle-deep muck. We are losing out on trainees. Who would want to wade through dirty water with shoes in hand unless there is an emergency?" Paul said.

Rishi Goswami, an employee of a courier company on the same floor as Paul Academy, said civic utilities firm Jusco was compromising on their health because the stagnant water was breeding mosquitoes.

"The entrance of the building remains waterlogged for hours at a stretch every time it pours. We are at the risk of vector-borne diseases such as malaria. Insects are also crawling all over our office," Goswami expressed his concern.

Sexagenarian Bhaskar Chatterjee, a resident of Sonari, was in for a nasty surprise. "Usually in Jusco areas, water recedes within 15 minutes. I had come to Paul Academy for some work and was caught unawares. With documents in on hand and shoes in the other, I waded through dirty water. The ground was slippery and I almost tripped," he said.

Bistupur's Q-Road resident Sukumar Senapati, who had come to the courier company office at Bari Mansion, was appalled to see how an elite commercial area had been made victim of flawed civic planning. "I felt frustrated to tread dirty water," he said.

Jusco spokesperson Rajesh Rajan conceded that the drain on Bari Mansion side had not been reconstructed, but said the job would soon be completed. "The road widening work is still underway. Drain on one side (near the traffic outpost) has been constructed; work on the other side (near Bari Mansion) will begin shortly," he added.

Widening of the 800-metre stretch from N-Road traffic signal to Kharkai sewage treatment plant began two months ago and, if Jusco officials are to be believed, will take another two-three months to be ready. This means there will effectively be no relief from waterlogging this year.