BHADRAK: The low pressure-induced rains on Thursday had the district court and the collectorate knee-deep in water. With lanes and bylanes under a sheet of water, courtesy clogged drains, the residents had a difficult time. “The inmates of Satang Vihar had to be shifted upstairs after rainwater gushed into their rooms,” said Chitaranjan Das, an inmate. The district, according to the District Emergency Office, received the highest rainfall of 90 mm on Thursday. For the residents of Kuansa, a ward in the middle of the town, water-logging is an annual phenomenon. The municipal authority has to use motor to drain out water from the area. The problem has compounded due to the absence of a drainage system, said Atish Behera, an advocate and former councillor.Out of the 16 main drains here, six have been encroached upon and the remaining 10 are mostly choked. While the sewage of the town flows through the main drain of the Salandi river, the municipality has constructed a market complex over the choked drain adding to the problem. Unplanned disposal of garbage has contributed to the mess. According to former Bhadrak municipal chairman Manas Mohanty, the civic body has repeatedly drawn the attention of the State and Union Urban Development Department to this problem. “The State Sewerage Board under the direction of theMinistry of Urban Development had conducted a survey and prepared a project report for the drainage system. But it could not be taken up as the municipality failed to deposit its share of ` 20 lakh,” said an engineer, on the condition of anonymity.Bhadrak municipal executive officer SN Panda said that preventive measures had been taken up to tide over the problem. “Choked drains are being renovated and two pumps are at its disposal to tackle water-logging. Besides, the municipality has privatised the sanitation work in 10 wards and two main roads of the town for over ` 40 lakh,” he added.
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