Bhubaneswar, July 13: If Facebook greets you with "Stay dry today in Bhubaneswar. Rain is in the forecast", don't ignore. The local meteorological centre has predicted that the city will experience heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours. The condition will intensify further and continue for another week.
While the prediction is a cause of worry for the residents who witnessed major waterlogging a few days back following a heavy downpour, the administration has decided to take concrete efforts to avoid a repeat of the situation.
Accordingly, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to operate a 24x7 control room to address drainage, waterlogging and solid waste management issues. The control room will start functioning tomorrow.
Emerging from a meeting with senior officials, BMC commissioner Krishan Kumar said: "A dedicated control room will operate from the BMC headquarters to address waterlogging situation on a 24x7 basis till the end of monsoon."
Besides drainage issues, the civic body has also decided to take additional measures to ensure sanitation in the city during the ongoing monsoon. They have decided to keep the temporary transit station near Sainik School on a round-the-clock basis to ensure that no garbage was left unattended or uncollected during the rainy season. "We have decided to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards irregular dumping of waste. Anyone found responsible for any lapses would be fined. The policy will also be applied to citizens. If any individual or organisation is found dumping garbage in the open, they will be fined," said BMC additional commissioner Srimanta Mishra.
The municipal commissioner has directed all the officials concerned to keep a close watch on overall cleanliness, drain de-siltation and lifting of solid waste. The officials have also been asked to monitor the activities on a day-to-day basis to take stock of the situation at the grassroots level.
Sanitary inspectors will be held responsible for any serious lapse in maintaining proper sanitation, not lifting garbage or leaving drain in a mess. Concerning encroachment of drains and drainage channels, the sanitation agencies, sanitary inspectors and the Swachh Bhubaneswar Abhijan cell officials will take note of violations and will report the matters to the zonal officers, who will take action in case to case basis.
"The tall claims of the civic body that they are 'rain ready' have just fallen flat with the recent heavy showers that inundated several areas. There are still some areas, which do not have proper drains. The civic body should identify those areas and construct drains to avoid waterlogging," said Hemant Biswal, a resident of GGP colony.
