Sambalpur drainage gives under watery onslaught
The torrential rains from Thursday night wrecked havoc in this city. It was the first heavy downpour of the current monsoon.
The poor drainage system was clearly exposed with most parts of the city deluged. Rainwater not only flew over the roads, it also entered houses in slums and even in high profile colonies.
As per the District Emergency Office sources, there was 38 mm of rainfall in the city in 24 hours.
Residents of the Housing Board Colony, Cheruapara, Danipali, Gopalmal and Modipara were the worst sufferers. “All the efforts of the Municipality to clean the drains for smooth flow of water have virtually failed and people bear the brunt of the problem in the entire city,” said Ajit Panda, a resident of the Housing Board Colony.
The drains choked with mud, silt and polythene, created a flood-like situation in several part of the city although the Municipality spends lakhs of rupees every month to ensure cleanliness through a private agency.
Encroachments along the drains also add to the problem everywhere. When there is a drive to evict the encroachers, their political patrons come forward to their rescue. Time and again, the residents have time and again complained about the problems to the authorities but to no effect. A permanent solution to the civic woes needs to be chalked out, said Ajit Panda.
“The rains were not so heavy in comparison to the previous years. But it created havoc this time. Hence, the district administration must think of a permanent solution to the problem,” Panda demanded.
District Emergency Officer Nihar Ranjan Dash visited different wards of the town and found waterlogging as an acute problem in wards 8, 16, 17 and 26. “The drainage system of the city should be revamped on a war footing to prevent such manmade situation in future,” he opined.
IIM Sambalpur
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