Residents clean up a drain at Jhanjirmangala in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Sept. 5: Residents of Jhanjirmangala today cleaned the drains in their locality to facilitate faster clearance of rainwater after officials of the municipal corporation failed to address their grievances.

The residents also staged a road blockade to protest against the civic apathy to resolve the waterlogging problem at Jhanjirmangala under ward No. 29 of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation.

Traffic on the Jhanjirmangala road connecting Badambadi and Khannagar with Pithapur, Jhola sahi and Bhagatpur was disrupted for over two hours because of the agitation.

Commuters faced a lot of inconvenience as they had to take a detour of two kilometres to travel from Khannagar to Jhanjirmangla.

“We were forced to clean the clogged drains as incessant rain for the past 24 hours had added to our woes,” said Satrughan Patnaik, 75, a local resident.

The rain has aggravated the situation as the water from the drains spill on to the roads inconveniencing commuters.

“Bad drains trigger waterlogging in our locality. The situation worsens after a spell of heavy rain as civic officials are taking no steps to increase the height of the surface drains,” said Hiranmay Raj, 52, another local resident.

The residents said that the repair work of the road was undertaken before the municipal elections in February.

Despite repeated reminders, the officials of the civic body are yet to initiate measures to upgrade the drains and resolving basic civic issues plaguing the locality.

“Many devotees from other parts of the city face problems while visiting the Jhanjirmangala temple and local Radha Krushna Mutt during the monsoon owing to the waterlogging conditions here,” said Savita Das, a devotee.

Local councillor Manjulata Prusty said that plastic bags clog drains.

“We had already taken measures to clean the drains. A culvert has also been upgraded. We will again discuss the issue with senior officials of engineering department for necessary action,” said Prusty.