Waste water at Basundhara Lane in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Aug. 11: The fear of dengue is haunting residents of Basundhara Lane near Bidanasi. Failure of the civic authorities to maintain cleanliness in the area and the recent spurt in dengue cases across the state have set the alarm bells ringing among the residents.

Local residents said they were yet to get access to basic civic amenities such as, roads and drainage systems.“There are no permanent drains to carry out waste water from the locality, which is one of the basic requirements for a better living,” said Hrudananda Majhi, 46, a local resident.

In the absence of proper drainage channels, residents have constructed temporary drains to let waste water flow out of the area. However, acute waterlogging in the locality is causing severe inconvenience to the residents.

“There is a spurt in dengue cases across the state. But no concrete measure has been taken so far to improve the living conditions here. Waste water stands on the road for days and it leads to the rise in mosquito population,” said Ravindra Sahani, another local resident.

Despite the fact that proper sanitary steps are essential to combat dengue, Sahani said the civic body had failed to take measures to keep the areas clean. Unwanted vegetation has also grown all over the area, which is another reason for the increase in mosquito population.

There is acute waterlogging in this locality that is home to around 250 families. Though there is a permanent drain barely 200 meters away, no step has been taken to construct a sub-drain and connect it with the main drain to release household waste water that the locality generates.

Though a massive cleanliness drive has already been launched by the district administration and Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) to combat dengue, such measures are nowhere to be seen at Basundhara Lane. On the other hand, local councillor Hrushikesh Dehury said most Basundhara Lane residents did not pay their holding tax as they had constructed houses on government land.

“Most of the residents have constructed their houses on government land and this is creating problems in the construction of roads and drains there,” said Dehury.

He, however, added that steps would be initiated towards maintaining sanitation in the area keeping in view the dengue scare. Anti-mosquito oil would be sprayed and weeds and bushes cut soon, he added.