Report published in The Telegraph on August 6

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 27: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has written a letter to the water resources department to desilt Gangua nullah. Accumulated silt in the nullah caused flooding in ward no. 3,4 and 5.

Normally the water of Kuakhai passes into Daya river via the Gangua nullah but silt in the nullah had resulted in floods on the outskirts of the city.

The engineering wing of the BMC has submitted a Rs 10-crore plan to the government to repair roads and drains damaged by heavy rain besides desilting of drains in different parts of the city.

“BMC has written to the water resources department to start desilting work on the Gangua nullah so that it can carry the floodwater from Kuakhai. Apart from the riverine floodwater, the nullah also carries storm water from all the 10 natural drainage channels in the city. However, with no separate sewage system operating in a major portion of the city, Gangua is virtually carrying both the storm and sewage water. If Gangua doesn’t have a clean bed then both the floodwater from the riverine system and storm water from the natural drainage channels can cause extensive damage to the low-lying areas,” said deputy municipal commissioner Priyadarshi Mohapatra.

The Telegraph had carried two reports on Gangua on April 7 and August 6, which narrated how builders and encroachers with their illegal activities had blocked the nullah putting the entire drainage system of the city at stake.

Nabakishore Mahalik, retired professor of Geology, Utkal University, said: “Water bodies like Gangua help in recharging the ground water table in Bhubaneswar. But with the entire system now lying paralysed, we are inviting fresh waterlogging problems.”

The engineering wing of the BMC, meanwhile, has submitted a flood-damage report to the housing and urban development department of the state government in which it has reported a loss of Rs 10 crore because of urban flooding.