Bhubaneswar, Oct. 7: The corporation has come up with a drainage action plan to check waterlogging near the Iskcon temple.

The problem assumes serious proportion even after a small shower in the area.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, in its plan, has suggested that the National Highways Authority of India should construct a drain along the NH-5 near the temple and connect it to the corporation channel near the Damayanti Apartment at Behera Sahi.

In a letter to the housing and urban development secretary, the civic body also said that encroachments and unauthorised constructions over a drain were dealt with through an eviction drive on September 21 as suggested by the director of municipal administration.

In another development, the civic authorities have asked the developers of two under-construction apartments near the highway not to dump their construction materials and debris on the road - which would create trouble for free flow of rain water.

On September 11, The Telegraph published a report "Drain chokes traffic, drown road" on how director of the municipal administration Sanjib Kumar Mishra took an initiative to solve the issue.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said: "We have conducted a survey of the entire area and found that the internal drainage system at Nayapalli needs to be redesigned and constructed to handle the drain water being discharged across the highway in front of the Iskcon temple."

"As we have limited internal budget, the civic body's existing pattern of drain construction on the piece meal basis will not yield any results. To achieve the objective in a time-bound manner, a budget of nearly Rs 5 crore is required. We have requested the state government to direct the highway authorities to share a substantial amount of the cost. For the rest of the amount, we have urged the government to release funds on priority basis," Jena said.

Nayapalli resident Nagen Behari Panda said: "The problem with waterlogging near the Iskcon temple should be addressed by this winter, so that the people will face lesser problems in rains."

Nayapalli councillor Nabakishore Behera said: "With the new drain and their integration with the Behera Sahi channel, I hope there would be some relief to the commuters."