Bhubaneswar, April 14: Residents here are unhappy with the delay in diversion of storm water channel No. 4 that passes through the low-lying areas of Acharya Vihar.
Last week, the state government had made an announcement about speeding up the land acquisition process for renovating the storm water channels. However, in case of Acharya Vihar, work on diverting the channel has not begun even a year after the squatters being evicted.
"The eviction process for diversion of storm water channel No. 4 was carried out on March 6 last year, but the work is yet to start," secretary of Acharya Vihar Parishad Bhagabat Prasad Das told The Telegraph.
Official sources said the drainage division of the water resources department had already deposited Rs 1.19 crore with the public health engineering department (PHEO) and Rs 5.80 lakh with the Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu) for the project. While Cesu had almost completed shifting electricity poles from the area, the PHEO was yet to start relocating a pipeline crucial to the project.
Das alleged that with government agencies evincing little interest, it is the parishad members who have virtually been monitoring the project work.
Low-lying areas in Acharya Vihar are worst hit by waterlogging caused by storm water channel No. 4, especially during the monsoon. During 2012, on two occasions, the area experienced heavy waterlogging. A flood-like situation was also witnessed in July, 2010. In September 2010, a man had to be rescued from inside his car after being caught in a flood caused by water overflowing from the channel. A moped was also washed away during the 2011 floods in the area.
People staying in higher areas of Acharya Vihar have started referring the low-lying zone as Jal Vihar. Even before the rains, waterlogging hits local people during occasional summer rains.
Ashok Kumar Parida, executive engineer with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, said: "We are going to co-ordinate with the drainage division of the water resources department to follow it up with other departments so that the work near Acahrya Vihar can start as soon as possible."
While diversion of the storm water channel is running behind schedule, renovation on the upstream stretch of the same channel from Ekamrakanan to the Nandankanan-airport road near Jayadev Vihar Square is progressing at a snail's pace.
Jayadev Vihar resident and former councillor Subhranshu Patnaik said: "Land acquisition upstream of the drainage channel in our locality is yet to start. A delay in the renovation process will aggravate the situation in the rainy season."
