Cuttack, Feb. 28: The main storm water channel no.1, which passes through Beleswar New Colony, has become a major problem for the residents of the area.

Residents of the Beleswar New Colony, which falls in ward no. 47 of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC), have to suffer from the ‘artificial flooding’ caused by alleged malfunctioning of a sewerage treatment plant located at Matagajpur.

The city’s wastewater flows through the main storm water channel no. 1, which originates from Tulsipur and passes through Beleswar, before it is discharged into Kathjori river following filtration at the Matagajpur treatment plant.

“Things remain normal when the pumps of the filtration unit function properly. But the area is deluged with wastewater when the pumps and sluice gates of the unit are closed and the natural flow of the drain is blocked,” said Batakrushna Biswal (61), secretary of the Beleswar Unyanan Parishad.

Similarly, as no measure has been taken to construct sidewalls of the drain, its natural path has started to develop cracks due to erosion. As a result, the drain water is entering many private lands through these gaps, causing problems for the local residents. Beleswar New Colony has been suffering from these problems for the past few years. However, the problem of waterlogging and artificial flooding is acute during monsoon when the sluice gates of the treatment plant are closed, Biswal added.

“It is very hard to cope with the foul smell coming out of the drain. Moreover, unhealthy atmosphere due to stagnant water has also led to rise in the mosquito population in the area,” said Madhusudan Das (46), local resident. “We are forced to live under such unhygienic atmosphere as no step has been taken by the civic authorities to solve our problems,” said Sarbeswar Behera (57), another local resident.

“A committee would be visiting the area shortly to review the problems faced by the local residents. Appropriate steps would be taken in this regard after the committee’s visit,” said mayor Soumendra Ghose.

On the other hand, local councilor Kailash Chandra Bastia has informed that steps are being taken to solve waterlogging and drainage issues in the area. “Work for repair of the drain has been included in the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project. The repair work is expected to begin soon,” he said. Emphasis is also being given on increasing the capacity of the sewerage treatment plant for systematic filtration of the wastewater. The problem of waterlogging in the area gets acute during monsoon. Hence, there is a need for expansion of the treatment plant, he added.