Bhubaneswar, July 29: The state government has formed a four-member team to deal with waterlogging on the NH-5 in the city.
The team has as its members representatives from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), public works department, drainage division of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and an expert from the water resource department of the state government.
The team will hold periodic meetings and come up with solutions to address the problem. The need to form the team was felt after the 14km stretch of the national highway that runs from Palasuni to Khandagiri Square in the civic body's jurisdiction experienced severe waterlogging.
The situation was especially bad near the Iskon temple at Nayapalli, where people had to wade through knee-deep water after heavy rain lashed the city last week. Several other parts along the highway - such as the area near Acharya Vihar - also faced a similar situation.
The municipal corporation and the NHAI are now holding the other responsible for the waterlogging situation on the NH-5.
"The national highway is the NHAI's property, and we have no access to clean or take up any project on this stretch. We have no right either on the flyover or on the approach road to the highway. At such a point, it is the NHAI's duty to take care of the cleaning and drain projects on the highway," said a civic body official.
With no solution in sight, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi held a meeting with the officials of the civic body and the NHAI and directed them to form a team with members from both the agencies to deal with the issue.
"There is the need to have a proper rainwater discharging channel along the highway. We had already started constructing drains along the highway. Now, there is a need to have a channel that takes the water smoothly to the adjacent drainage channels and then to the river," said an NHAI official.
Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they were ready to help the NHAI to take up the drainage project along the highway.
"The highway runs through the city and divides the city in two parts. So, it is a very important part of the city. We will provide all the support to get things resolved here," said Jena.