Residents wade through waste water in Chauliaganj. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, April 21: The drainage system at Chauliaganj Talasahi is taking a toll on local residents because of poor planning and lack of coordination between the municipality and the road and buildings department.

Communication gap between the two agencies during repair of the Cuttack-Jagatsinghpur road, which passes through OMP Chowk and Chauliaganj, has left the area waterlogged.

“Passage of waste water from the locality is a problem as it lies at a much lower level compared to the height of the newly repaired Cuttack-Jagatsinghpur road,” said Somnath Sahoo (42), a local resident.

Moreover, as the drains are narrow, they fail to properly discharge waste water generated from the area. Several other localities face similar problem This also leads to similar problems in various localities and Talasahi turns out to be the worst sufferer.

Residents of Chauliaganj Talasahi are having a harrowing time because of overflowing drains. The locality is inundated with waste water which also enters houses on a regular basis.

“The drains here have become obsolete as no step has been taken for its maintenance. The drains are overflowing causing problems to the residents,” said Kartik Chandra Bastia (40), another local resident. “This has been the situation for the last one-and-a-half year. The drains start to overflow from the morning and the locality is filled with dirty water which takes several hours to subside,” Bastia said.

Local residents said that the authorities were taking no steps to solve the problem which, in a way, is creating health hazards as well.

“At times, it becomes almost unbearable to stand the foul smell emanating from the drains. Moreover, the situation gets worse during rains when the entire locality remains waterlogged for several days,” said Biswaranjan Bastia (29), another local resident.

However, local councillor Sumitra Sahu said she was aware of the problem and steps were being taken to solve it. “The drainage problem has surfaced mainly because of construction of the road from OMP Square to CRRI by the road and buildings department. We have discussed the matter and the problem would end soon,” said Sahu.

Moreover, adequate steps were being taken to maintain sanitation. At present, 32 sweepers were engaged in manual collection and disposal of garbage from the ward that has a population of over 10,000, the councillor said.

Around 150 families reside at Chauliaganj Talasahi that falls under ward No. 38 of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC).