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| Overflowing drains and piles of garbage dumped on the roadside create problems for residents of Kafla Bazaar in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das |
Cuttack, Oct. 18: Residents of Kafla Bazaar are reeling from civic neglect because of lack of initiatives on the part of civic officials to improve living conditions here.
Kafla Bazaar, which falls partly in ward No. 7 and partly in ward No. 8 of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC), urgently needs sanitation measures, which seem to have taken a backseat in the last couple of months.
“People are living in the most unhygienic conditions here as garbage is not being cleared on a daily basis,” said Kartik Sahu (39), a local resident. Sahu said though big dustbins had been placed on the main street, the door-to-door collection of garbage was not being carried out properly. As a result, piles of garbage could be found dumped in the locality on any given day.
Drainage is another area of concern for most of the residents here. They allege no steps have been taken to improve the condition of drainage channels that have completely become obsolete here. “The drains were being cleaned on a regular basis during the rainy season, but no longer. As a result, most of the drains are clogged,” said Seikh Ramzan, 41, another local resident.
With the drains clogged, wastewater is flowing onto the streets, making life difficult for residents and shop owners in the locality. “Wastewater from the drains flows onto the road every day. This is mainly because the drain is choked, and this hampers the passage of wastewater generated from the locality,” said Umesh Swain, 34, a shopkeeper.
Local councillor of ward No. 7 Sumitra Sahu said adequate measures were being taken for maintaining all-around sanitation in the area. However, she admitted that improving the ward’s existing drainage system was a major concern.
“The process for carrying out repair and renovation works for the drainage system has taken a backseat for some reason. The matter will soon be discussed with the new junior engineer, who is expected to assume charge in a couple of days,” said Sahu.
Sahu added that recently steps were taken to construct an open drain, which has solved the waterlogging issue at nearby Mansinghpatna. Similar effort would be made to improve the existing drainage channels at Kafla Bazaar.