Bhubaneswar, June 15: The municipal corporation is struggling to keep its word of completing all drain cleaning and repair work before monsoon.
Residents fear the delay in drain cleaning, desilting and repair work would create severe water logging in different parts of the city, mostly in the outskirts like previous years. However, the officials of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) claimed that major work had been done and only a few were left that would be done within a few days.
It's noteworthy that the civic body had set June 15 as the last date for finishing the cleaning and desilting work of all the drains in the city.
Residents, however, complain that the drain work in several places has been haphazardly done or is not completed even though the deadline set by the corporation ends today. They even complained that the work at central part of the city has not yet been finished.
"In our area the desilting of drains has been haphazardly done with the silt kept on the roadside. With rain, these materials will again enter the drainage channel," said Sarita Sethi, a resident of Unit- III.
Corporation officials, however, said the private contractors that were engaged by the corporation for sanitation job in the city had almost cleaned the drains falling under their areas.
"So most of the drains in the city have been desilted," said public relation officer of BMC Srimanta Mishra.
Moreover, walls of several drains are broken and in certain areas, some of them are completely blocked due to heavy deposition of silt. The corporation workers have been repairing these channels for quite some time now, but it is yet to be over.
"In our area, the drain repair work is still under way, while the monsoon has already set in. If it is not completed shortly, it will create a lot of problem during the rains," said Ratikant Sahu, a resident of Unit-II.
The officials said these works would be completed within a few days.
"Most of the drains have been desilted. Only a few are left, which will be finished in next few days," said the officials.
The major concern for residents in the city is the delay in cleaning of natural drains that fall under the drainage division. These channels passing through the city at several points create heavy water logging during rainy season and people face a lot of problem, as drain water enter their houses.
Not only the low lying areas on the city outskirts, but also the central part of the city and posh areas such as Acharya Vihar face severe water logging every year during the monsoon.
To add to the woes of the residents, the officials of water resource department under which drainage division works said the work would start within a few days.
For the cleaning of natural drainage channels, the drainage division had called for tenders and everything has been finalised.
"Due to official procedures the work got delayed. It will start within a week," said P.S. Durai, executive engineer of drainage division.
Residents, however, are apprehensive, as they feel the work would not be over in next several months. "When it rains heavily, the problem will persist and we will suffer as usual. That's the way the government works here," said Anusaya Pati, a resident of Acharya Vihar.
