As rain nears, flood fear grips Bhubaneswar

BDA and BMC’s struggle to move against unregulated construction and encroachment has taken a toll on major drains.
Garbage clogging a drain in Ashok Nagar near the railway station.  (Photo | EPS)
Garbage clogging a drain in Ashok Nagar near the railway station. (Photo | EPS)

BHUBANESWAR: Delay in land acquisition, uncontrolled encroachments, poor waste management and resource crunch - the state government is grappling with challenges as the City dreads another deluge with the arrival of monsoon. 

As both Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) struggle to move against unregulated construction and encroachment, it has taken a toll on major drains making the city vulnerable to water-logging and flooding even after a short spell of rain. 

At least 6,000 residential and commercial structures need to be razed for encroaching on drainage channels and the two agencies are clueless about how to go about the mammoth task.

As a result, the 10 major stormwater drainage channels are encroached by buildings constructed unauthorisedly.

The municipal corporation’s drainage expansion project under its comprehensive drainage plan is going nowhere because large-scale encroachments cannot be tackled.

Two years back, the BMC had planned to invest around Rs 400 crore for expansion of drainage channels. However, tenders couldn’t be floated due to land acquisition hurdle, sources said.

The drain in Sabara Sahi
The drain in Sabara Sahi

“The damage is done and it needs strong political will to execute the project,” an officer pointed out.

The encroachment around water bodies of the city also needs to be removed.

The agencies are also unsure since legal hurdle pose a challenge in the implementation of the drainage expansion projects. 

Encroachments apart, proper management of solid waste has been another massive challenge which the civic authorities have failed to deal with. Sanitation budget of BMC is about Rs 50 crore but many areas remain waterlogged during monsoon season because collection and disposal has been tardy to say the least.

There are also allegations of misappropriation of funds. A strong regulatory mechanism is yet to be put in place to audit the expenses, a former corporator said. 

Even as collection, transport and disposal of solid waste remain problematic, plastic waste has emerged as a big worry.

Around 42 tonnes solid waste is generated in the capital every day and five tonnes of it is plastics.

Despite a ban on use of plastic, there has been no visible change as enforcement remains extremely patchy.

A substantial chunk of plastic waste goes into drainage channels and end up clogging the systems that aid flooding.

Additional Commissioner of BMC Surath Mallick, however, said that they are concerned about situation and taking measures accordingly. “In a meeting last month, we have already drawn up an action plan for short term and long term measures to overcome water-logging and flooding in the city,” he told this paper.

While land acquisition for drainage projects is a long term process, Mallick said, BMC is demolishing structures encroaching on drains immediately in areas which risk water-logging in monsoon.

“We have set a target to complete de-siltation of the drains by June third week,” he added.

Down the drain

  •  6,000 residential and commercial structures need to be razed for encroaching drainage channels

  •  10 major stormwater drainage channels encroached by unauthorised buildings

  •  Rs 400 crore investment planned by BMC two years back for expansion of drainage channels

  •  No tenders floated so far due to land acquisition hurdle and fund crunch

  •  Many areas remain waterlogged during monsoon due to tardy collection and disposal

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