Bhubaneswar, July 27: The administration today conducted eviction drives to remove encroachments from municipal drains in the city in an attempt to check waterlogging.
The exercise aims to provide the sanitary workers an easy access to municipal drains to ensure that they are cleaned on time and de-silted even during heavy rain. The authorities have taken up the drive in all the three administrative zones of the city today and said the drive would continue tomorrow.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Bhubaneswar Development Authority and the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police are carrying out the driver together. Today, the authorities went to Kharavela Nagar and demolished one temple, 24 wooden cabins, 18 tin-sheet extensions, nine advertisement boards and 16 stores of rag-pickers that had been encroaching on various drains.
Besides, the joint squad also evicted encroachments over road from Amber Square to PH Square near the HHI Hotel. "We have deployed police for help, but conducted the eviction peacefully without any resistance from local people. There are still some portions to the demolished here. It will be conducted tomorrow," said the development authority's liaison officer Subharnsu Sekhar Mohanty.
Drain encroachment and dumping of plastic waste in the municipal drains are the primary reasons behind drain clogging, which led to the waterlogging in various localities of the city last week. The city administration has been at the receiving end of a lot of criticism for this.
"It was nothing but sheer negligence on part of the municipal corporation that has failed to maintain the city's drains. The poor maintenance of the drains resulted in the clogging and the consequent waterlogging that the city residents had to endure," said Acharya Vihar resident Bhagbat Jena.
In another operation today, another squad demolished an unauthorised temple in the parking area of Joggers Park at Chandrasekharpur. The team has demolished two houses, one shed and two with cemented bases. The authorities here freed about 2,500sqft government land with a drain running adjacent to the land.
In the third drive, the enforcement team today proceeded to Old Town and removed squatters from the stretch between Rabi Talkies Square and Tankapani Road, and Bramherwar Patana Square and Samantarapur in ward No. 58. Here, the officials removed 38 wooden cabins, 43 extended shops and hotels, 16 temporary hotels, three seasonal rakhi shops, one nursery and seven fast food shops.
"The authorities are trying to show they are doing much for us, but the ground reality is the absolute opposite. Now, they are conducting rigours eviction drive and cleaning the drains, but one major spell of rain will reveal the reality of their poor work. I hope this time they will give some concrete result," said Nayapalli resident Nirakar Mohanty.
