(Top) Doctors and patients at the waterlogged Madhusudan Das Dispensary in Cuttack and an official uses a bucket to flush out drain water from its premises on Tuesday. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, June 19: Fifty-five-year-old Sadananda Behera had to wade through drain water as he entered the premises of the Madhusudan Das Dispensary, which had been flooded by the heavy rain that lashed the city yesterday.

Not only Behera, a lot of other patients had to wade through two-feet-high drain water that had accumulated inside the Cuttack Municipal Corporation-run dispensary at Sidheswar Sahi near Kanika Chhak.

“The Madhusudan Das Dispensary, one of the oldest healthcare centres of the city, reels from neglect as authorities have not initiated measures for its development and maintenance,” said local resident Sayed Mushid Ali.

The dispensary caters to the needs of the residents of Sidheswar Sahi, Saidani Bagicha, Kafla and other areas. More than 50 patients visit the dispensary everyday.

Local residents also alleged that drain water accumulated in the locality following yesterday’s shower as the civic authorities did not initiate desiltation measures before the monsoon.

A lot of medicines, which were kept on the floor of the dispensary, have been damaged following contamination with drain water.

“After coming to know that wastewater has entered our dispensary, we took initiative to flush it out this morning. But much damage has been done even by that time,” said pharmacist Kailash Chandra Behera.

“Drain water entering the dispensary has become a common feature every monsoon. We have brought it to the notice of the civic administration a number of times. But, they are yet to act to solve this problem,” he said.

Civic officials, on the other hand, said steps would be taken soon to remove wastewater from the dispensary. “We have got complaints of waterlogging inside the dispensary. We will take necessary action to address the problem at the earliest,” said city health officer Yogeswar Pani.