Houses along the Gangua nullah which overflows during monsoon every year. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, June 18: The civic and development authorities have asked people planning to construct buildings in the low-lying areas of the city to get their applications vetted by the water resources department.

For example, constructions being planned near the Daya West Canal, Gangua nullah, low-lying areas of Cuttack Road and the Old Town localities would require to get permission from experts of the water resources department.

“We have water resources department engineers as members at our development and engineering planning meetings. But, consideration of individual plans has become a challenge for us. We have decided that when an application for building plan approval near a low-lying area or a water channel should come through a proper scrutiny by experts of the water resources department,” said Bhubaneswar Development Authority vice-chairman Krishan Kumar, who is also commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation.

A senior civic body engineer said: “While going through a building plan application near the low-lying area of Brahmeswar Bagh along Ravi Talkies-Sai Temple Road last month, we came across a typical situation as channelising of rainwater from the area has become difficult. In the near future, the situation would become more critical as the corporation might have to deploy a pump to remove the rainwater.”

Sources said the Gangua basin had become overloaded with silt and sand deposit and there was little scope for it to carry more rainwater. Besides, construction of the drain along the Ravi Talkies-Sai Temple Road has become more elevated than the surrounding catchment areas, causing difficulty in collecting the rainwater.

Local resident Malay Mohapatra said: “Earlier, neither the civic body nor the development authority took steps either to excavate the Gangua basin or provide alternate passage to the rainwater. Now, the situation has become so bad that allowing building plan approval has not been possible without advice of experts.”

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said that the civic body had informed the development authorities not to allow construction of buildings and apartment blocks in the low-lying areas and localities near the water channel in the city.