Bhubaneswar: Traffic was disrupted at the Khandagiri Square crossing for more than an hour on Sunday afternoon as residents of Dumduma staged a dharna protesting against sewage flowing onto the road connecting Khandagiri and Dumduma.

The local residents alleged that the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation had turned a blind eye to the fact that the stretch had remained submerged in knee-deep sewage for the past 15 days.

Earlier, wastewater from nearby residential areas used to flow through a private plot. However, sewage started inundating the adjoining road instead ever since the owner of the private plot started construction at the site.

"Vehicles are being forced to wade through knee-deep wastewater on this 100-metre stretch. Pedestrians are the worst sufferers. We have brought the matter to the notice of the local councillor several times, but she has not addressed the problem," said local resident Santosh Jena.

Their protest threw traffic out of gear at Khandagiri, which is one the city's busiest crossings, on Sunday. Due to the protest, it took commuters more than half an hour to cross the stretch instead of a normal journey time of 10 minutes.

"Bhubaneswar has been declared a smart city. But the civic body has failed miserably in addressing the drain-age problem. The stink emanating from the wastewater on the road has made life of local residents and commuters unbearable. Commuters are being forced to drive on wrong route to avoid getting soaked in sewage, which is in turn leading to minor accidents," said Bimbadhar Behera.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, however, sounded hopeful. "We have spoken to the owners of two adjoining private plots to release the wastewater for the moment. We are also making an estimate for construction of a drainage system there to release sewage directly to natural drainage channel No. 9 as a permanent measure," said Jena.