Bhubaneswar, July 21: The civic body promised residents here that the city would not go underwater this monsoon. The reality, however, is in stark contrast to the promise made.
Every time it has rained, most parts of Bhubaneswar have witnessed severe waterlogging to the annoyance of residents. Monday's rainfall showed how unprepared the municipal corporation and other agencies were to tackle the situation, despite claiming full preparedness.
The worsening conditions have now forced the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation to begin work to clean-up drains across the city on a war footing to avoid any further waterlogging. Today, the civic body, in collaboration with the Bhubaneswar Development Authority, took up a major eviction drive near Pahala on the NH-5, clearing encroachments over a 1.5km drainage channel that runs adjacent to the highway.
"We realised that encroachment over drains was a major reason behind the recent waterlogging and we have since decided to clear these on a priority basis," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.
The civic body has also cleared encroachments along Fire Station Road, Jagamara Road and Krishi Vihar Road, apart from clearing tertiary drains at Nayapalli, Acharya Vihar, Jaydev Vihar, Rasulgarh and Old Town.
In May, the civic body started de-silting drainage channel Nos. 5, 7 and 9 to ensure a waterlogging-free monsoon. It had also cleaned the drainage channel No. 2 behind Sainik School, and released Rs 1.52 crore to remove silt from secondary and tertiary drains in the 10 wards under its wings.
Civic officials said irregular dumping of waste clogged the drains, which overflowed at several areas while residents blamed the corporation for its failure. "The civic body removed the sludge, but forgot to lift it in time. As a result, it seeped back into the drains. The civic body is to blame for the present situation," said Rasulgarh resident Jay Mohana.
"The rain has put the administration to shame. It is clear that they were not ready to tackle incessant rain. We suffered as the administration chose to sit idle. It should have a vision and done work according to it," said Acharya Vihar resident Sampad Mohanty.
The civic body has also taken to social media to sensitise citizens about dumping garbage only in waste bins and not in the drains. "We found that several waste materials, mainly plastic, clogged the drains triggering the recent waterlogging. We need to make people aware about safe dumping practices to avoid such situations," said a civic body official.
This week's incessant rain left several areas inundated with rain and wastewater. The drains, including the natural drainage channels, overflowed at several areas, flooding major roads. The rainwater also inundated houses at Jayadev Vihar and Acharya Vihar.
In another development, the National Highways Authority of India has taken up a similar effort to avoid waterlogging on the flyover that runs from Palasuni Square to Baramunda Square. The wavy design of the flyover makes water collect at lower gradients. It made openings using JCB machines to release water from these sections.
