Bhubaneswar, May 27: Drainage channels in the city are yet to be de-silted and renovated despite just about two weeks remaining before monsoon hits the city.

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation takes care of roadside drains and smaller drains in the city (secondary and tertiary) while the drainage channels (primary) are taken care of by the drainage division under the water resources department.

Prabir Das, a resident of Saheed Nagar, feels that the civic authorities are to blame for the condition of drainage channel No. IV near Utkal University where it has silted and blocked, creating an unhealthy atmosphere.

“It is correct that renovations are the drainage division’s responsibility. But since the siltation affects public hygiene and environment, the civic authorities should come forward and clean it so that the water can flow,’’ said Das.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the corporation would only de-silt secondary and tertiary drains because the primary drains were the drainage division’s responsibility. “Due to the by-poll in ward No. 19, the election code of conduct was in force till May 24 and we had no scope of starting the drain-cleaning work. We will take it up in a week and complete it before the monsoon,” said Jena.

Executive engineer of drainage division (Cuttack) Pradip Duria, who is supervising the renovation work of the drainage channel No. I, II, III and IV, said: “We are aware of the situation near the university gate. But the university authorities are not allowing us to work on the campus and so we cannot do anything.”

Speaking on the renovation of drainage channel No. I, Duria said the renovation work has reached the Damana Square area and was likely to cross the Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan road soon. While the drainage channel No. II work is nearing its final stage, work on channel No. III has reached the railway line from the VSS Nagar end. Some work is left inside Sainik School and nearby areas.

Speaking on the renovation work of the drainage channel No. IV, the senior water resources department engineer said: “Renovation work on the parts of the channel where government land is available, has been completed. In some stretches, we still need the private land and the land will be made available by the Khurda district administration. Once the land acquisition process is over, we can carry out the work there.”

On the diversion of the channel No. 4 near NH-5 at Acharya Vihar where the channel floods after heavy rainfall, a senior drainage division official said: “The land will be acquired by the general administration department. Once the acquisition work is done, we can divert the channel so that the flood threat can be minimised.”