(Top) Garbage lies dumped and clogged drains at Rajabagicha Police colony. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, May 16: Rajabagicha police colony is in dire need of better sanitation facilities.

Due to lack of initiatives on part of the civic authorities, a lot of unwanted vegetation has grown around the locality and this has been creating all sorts of problems for the residents here.

“Due to such unhealthy atmosphere and wild vegetation in the area, a lot of creatures such as snakes live here. Sometimes they even enter our homes,” said deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Bikash Chandra Das.

Das said there were around 100 quarters at Rajabagicha police colony, which is one of oldest residential quarters for police personnel here in the city. However, no steps were being taken to maintain a hygienic atmosphere there.

“Earlier, civic employees used to collect garbage from families by going from every morning. But this practice was stopped around two months ago. As a result, one can find piles of garbage dumped at many places in the locality,” Das added.

“Most of the drains in the locality are clogged and despite several complaints no step is being taken to remove the silt. As a result, the drains are overflowing and this has resulted in the rise of mosquitoes in the area,” said Akshya Pradhan, another resident.

It can be mentioned that there is problem in the passage of the waste water from the locality as the level of the drains here are much lower than the level of the main drains. As a result, the waste water, instead of going to the main drain, is staying back here. Things are likely to worsen during the monsoon if no step is taken to solve these issues, local residents said.

Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) officials said that adequate steps were being taken to maintain sanitation in the city and moreover, the mechanised sweeping has also been introduced from today.

“Things are expected to improve at many places including the police colony where a dustbin has been installed. From now on, waste generated from the entire locality will be collected on a daily basis,” said an official.