Just 45 mins of rain turns Cuttack into stinking open drain

CUTTACK: A brief spell of rain late on Saturday night ripped apart the facade of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and laid bare its complete inefficiency in handling the civic affairs of the city.

The morning after the rains raised a putrid stench with large parts of the city resembling an open sewage pond as all the waste from the uncleaned drains overflowed on to the roads, lanes and by-lanes. The usual menace of waterlogging also gripped the low-lying areas due to clogged drains. 

The worst affected areas from waterlogging were Khatbin Sahi, Rovers Street, Kazi Bazar, Mehendipur, Kendujhar Colony, Kanika Square, Nuabazar and Mahanadi Vihar localities.

While major roads and thoroughfares were covered under slushy stinking waste and silt. Movement on the roads was a miserable exercise to the people of the city.

This happened despite tall claims by the civic body that it had set things right to prevent waterlogging and flash floods.

The rain lashed for about 45 minutes and turned the city into a vast expanse of open drain. If this is the state of affairs with the monsoon yet to set in, the residents of the city have started questioning the relevance and utility of the civic body.

“The recent municipal elections had given hope that an elected council and Mayor would free the civic body from the grip of bureaucracy, which completely failed in improving civic conditions for the past five years and ensuring a dignified civic life for the people. Before the  election, Mayor Subhas Singh had assured to resolve the persistent waterlogging problem of the city. But after being elected, he too has washed his hands-off, saying waterlogging problem cannot be solved completely. If this is the situation in summer, the condition of the city during the monsoon time can be well imagined,” a resident lamented.

Meanwhile, CMC had held a review meeting with all the six line department officials on Saturday afternoon where the officials submitted report about the completion of 40 per cent of branch and territorial drains with 60 per cent desilting of two major storm water channels.

A senior official from the civic body claimed that the drain desilting works being carried out by the civic body was better than before. The work is yet to be completed in a few areas, which caused the waterlogging on Saturday, he said.