Broken roads and (below) drains at Mallha Sahi. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, March 28: The residents of Mallha Sahi area are reeling from negligence of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation, which has failed to provide them with proper civic amenities.

Residents of the area, which falls in ward No. 37 of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC), allege that no steps have been taken by the CMC to ensure development of the Mallha Sahi. They allege that basic amenities, including proper roads and drains, have remained a distance dream for them.

“All the roads leading to the locality are in bad shape as the municipal corporation has not taken any steps for their repairs for years. Because of the bad condition of the roads, we face problems while travelling from one end of the area to the other,” said Rajendra Nath Behera (38), local resident. “It is very surprising that despite repeated complaints by the residents, no step has been taken for repairing the major roads of the area. Senior citizens and children suffer most from the potholed roads as streetlighting provisions in the area are also inadequate,” he added.

“Hygiene and sanitation eludes the area as there are no adequate dustbins or waste dumping grounds where the residents can throw their household waste. As a result, we are forced to throw the garbage on roadsides. The municipality workers do not clean the roads regularly,” said Kailash Sahoo (37), another local resident.

Apart from roads, poor drainage system is another area of concern for the residents of Mallha Sahi as no step has been taken for desiltation and repair of major drains that are in dilapidated condition.

“The culverts as well as drains are on the brink of collapse at many points. The existing channels are unable to flush out excess wastewater resulting in overflowing of drains,” Sahoo added.

On the other hand, local councillor Puspalata Rout has informed that adequate steps are being taken towards improving living conditions in the locality.

“Work for construction of road has been completed in some areas of the ward. Road repair works at Mallha sahi will also be taken up soon as the work for laying of underground pipelines for drinking water supply has been completed recently,” said Rout.

At present, there are 32 sanitary staff for the entire ward that has a population over 10,000.

Work for desiltation of drains has also begun in many areas of the locality. Desiltation will be done in all the drains of Mallha Sahi.

“We are taking adequate steps to solve the grievances of the local residents,” the councillor added.