Wastewater flows on a road and (below) surrounds a house at Binayak Vihar in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Aug. 26: Waterlogging problems plague residents of Binayak Vihar in Darakhapatna allegedly owing to the absence of a proper drainage system.

The builder, who developed this area under ward No. 48 of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation, had not made the provision to drain out excess water. Consequently, water accumulation has become a major problem in the area.

Wastewater released in private land was also causing problems for the residents.

“We have been staying here for the last seven years and waterlogging has remained a perennial problem. The problem is graver now because of a damaged culvert,” said local resident Manoj Parida. He said around 50 families had constructed houses after purchasing plots from the builder, who had developed the land in 2008.

Local residents said many of them had filled up the low-lying land. But water accumulated anyway because of the natural slope of the land. With the corporation not taking steps to set things right, the problem remains.

“Many people have to use sand bags to prevent wastewater from entering their houses,” said Sudha Sahu, a homemaker.

Local councillor Soubhagini Jena said the reason behind waterlogging at Binayak Vihar was the release of wastewater of nearby localities into private land there.

“We have already installed a motor pump to flush out accumulated water from the locality. Moreover, officials and engineers of the corporation have reviewed the situation and steps would be taken to resolve the issues,” said Jena.

The councillor said there was a proposal to connect the existing drain, through which wastewater from Darkhapatna was being released into private land, with the existing drain at Kazi Diha. He also said that permission would soon be sought from the railways as they owned a portion of the land where the drain had to be built.

On the other hand, Amiya Ranjan Routray, the builder, said most of the wastewater from Darkhapatna and nearby areas was being released into Binayak Vihar by the corporation itself.

“A culvert has remained damaged for 15 days and no step has been taken to repair it. We are now considering filing a case against the civic body because it is releasing wastewater into private land,” said Routray.

Routray said many people were unable to construct houses there because of the accumulation of rain and wastewater.