Bhubaneswar, July 26: The rains lashed the state capital over the past few weeks and have exposed the municipal corporation's laidback approach to ensuring basic amenities and safety of its residents.

The worsening condition and widespread waterlogging forced the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation to resume cleaning up of drains across the city.

On July 25, The Telegraph reported how the recent rain and subsequent waterlogging had turned several main and internal roads in Bhubaneswar into death traps for commuters.

However, not all the ills that ail the state capital are the fault of the rain. The administration here has turned a blind eye to the careless way of laying underground cables, which pose a threat to the life of people across the city.

The authorities dug up the ground in several parts of the city to lay power lines, but did a sloppy job of refilling them with soil. With heavy rain loosening the upper layer of soil that covered the trenches, commuters and vehicles have been exposed to mishaps.

A lorry fell into such a trap this morning at Bhimtangi. Eyewitness said the lorry was trying to make its way through the lane when its front tyre got stuck in the ground at the place where recently underground power cables had been laid.

"The helper, who was sitting on the side of the vehicle that got stuck into the ground, had a narrow escape. We rushed to the spot and rescued both the driver and the helper. It is a very careless work and anyone can fall into it," said local resident Mitrabhanu Sahoo.

The waterlogging situation doubled the problem for commuters as several trenches, which are yet to be covered up, have turned into death traps for them.

"There are certain areas where the administration has dug trenches, but have not put up fences around them. This creates a major threat to the life and limbs of commuters who are new to these areas. They will end up misjudging the pit when it is filled with rainwater," said Unit-II resident Satyam Mohanty.

People using the busy Cuttack-Puri Highway and several such stretches, including the road adjacent to Indira Gandhi Park, where the project is going on, are facing similar problems. A few local councillors raised the issue with the mayor during last month's council meeting and demanded action.

"There are certain rules and regulations that need to be followed while laying any kind of underground cable. It seems that the authorities laying the power lines have turned a blind eye to these regulations. Such work can lead to severe drainage failures in the areas during the rains," said a councillor.

The Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited and the Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu) had taken up the work to install underground power lines for smooth supply of electricity to households at several areas including, Gandhi Marg, Bidyut Marg, Cuttack-Puri Road and other internal areas.

"We are following the rules and regulations while laying underground cables. We have dug up several stretches but due to the rain, the pits were automatically filled up with sludge. We will ensure that our contractors are following the safety norms and will take action if there is any violation," said a senior Cesu official.

The Cesu official also said they had put up adequate fencing to ensure commuter safety, but claimed that severe waterlogging over the past few weeks had washed several of those away.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said he had received complaints regarding underground cable laying work from citizens as well as councillors.

"We will issue orders to our ground-level officials to look into the matter. We will also take up the issue with Cesu," said Jena.