Waterlogging at Acharya Vihar in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 23: A 45-minute shower last evening was enough flood low-lying areas in Acharya Vihar along the natural drainage channel No. 4. Now, the water is flowing on the streets of this area.

The situation at Acharya Vihar, which falls in ward No. 24 of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), is reminiscent of a much more serious incident of September 2010, when a car was practically washed away by floodwaters. The man inside was, however, saved with the efforts of local residents. A two-wheeler was also washed away during the floods last year. More than 50 families were affected by the floodwaters.

The natural drainage channel No. 4 has its source in the reserve forest of Bharatpur. Flow of water in the channel increases proportionately if it rains heavily in the forest area. “Last evening’s rainfall in the city created waterlogging at many places,” said Pramod Hembram, councillor of ward No. 24.

Earlier, the drainage channel was like a natural stream as it used to carry clear water from the forest area. But later, many low-lying areas of Acharya Vihar were turned into residential areas. Although the authorities granted permission for construction, they never had the foresight to think about the possible future problems.

“The BMC authorities have prepared a plan to remove the encroachments which are blocking the flow of the channel. But, the project will require huge amount of money and the drainage division will have to help us financially. Only after these things are coordinated, we can go for the cleansing activity.

Last month, a cattle carcass was found near the drain’s entry point at Acharya Vihar. The place was so congested with other solid wastes that the BMC workers had to face a lot of difficulty while removing the carcass,” the councillor added.

Retired chief engineer of works department Nandanandan Das suggested that if the clearance of water from the drainage channel near Acharya Vihar was not adequate then a plan should be made for proper desiltation of the channel bed or immediate eviction of the encroachment.

A senior BMC engineer said: “The civic body has already conducted a survey and found that large-scale encroachments on both the sides of the drainage channel has caused the artificial flood. While the bed of the channel has been squeezed, part of the immediate catchment has been converted into a road. As a result, when the narrow available space of the channel cannot accommodate the flow of water, the extra water floods the roads.”

BMC’s deputy commissioner Priyadarshi Mohapatra said apart from encroachment, a drainage channel also needed to be free from solid wastes. “People keep dumping household waste and even building materials into the small drains near their homes eventually causing waterlogging,” said Mohapatra.

The drainage division of Cuttack has already started renovation of the natural drainage channel No. 4 in those areas where there is no encroachment.

“In the areas where the encroachment problem is creating obstacles in the flow of sewage, a report will be prepared by the engineers of the water resources department. After that, we can go for demolition of the illegal structures,” Mohapatra added.

While the smaller (secondary and tertiary) drains are under the direct control of the civic body, the 10 natural drainage channels are under the control of the water resources department. In February, the state government had decided to include all natural drainage channels of the city for renovation work. Earlier, four such channels were included in the list, for which funds were earmarked under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission with an allocation of Rs 68.33 crore.

Later, the chief minister had announced that the state government would take up the renovation work of five other drainage channels with its own funding through the water resources department. The renovation plan for drainage channel No. 9 will be taken up by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority.