CUTTACK: Even as the authorities of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) claim to have drained out stagnant water by engaging 230 dewatering pumps, there seems to be no let up in the situation with rain continuing to lash the Millennium City.
According to official sources, though water has started receding from some parts of the city on Tuesday after the rain abated from Monday evening, as many as 43 localities still remain waterlogged.
The district administration has clarified that the process of draining out water is getting delaying due to continuous heavy rain. The city received 52 mm rainfall on Tuesday, official sources said. The administration continued relief operation for second day in marooned localities and has provided cooked food to 6,650 affected people of Patapola, Meria Bazaar, Sutahat, Harinapark and Buxi Bazaar.
Collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra convened an emergency meeting of CMC and other line departments and directed officials of the 13 special teams, constituted to tackle the situation, to monitor dewatering process round-the-clock and submit report about any negligence or irregularities.
The Collector also asked CMC Commissioner Bikash Chandra Mahapatra to deploy more dewatering pump sets at necessary low-lying areas and expedite water clearing process.
BMC steps up plans to check water-logging
Bhubaneswar: After appointing a City Emergency Officer, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now decided to form a multi-agency control room on its office premises for better redressal of emergency situations. The need for multi-agency control room was felt after incessant rains for the last couple of days brought to fore the fact that drainage management has multiple components. The control room will facilitate flow of information to the agency concerned at the right moment. This model will also work as a precursor to the proposed Command and Control System to monitor city’s various problem areas, once all the vantage points are covered under the Integrated City Operations and Management Centre (ICOMC), recommended in the pan-city proposal of the Smart City, said sources. The major stakeholders of the multi-agency control room will include the Swachha Bhubaneswar Abhiyaan (SBA) from BMC, Public Works Department, Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO), National Highways Authority of India, Commissionerate of Police and Fire Service. “With the City Emergency Officer, formation of a multi-agency control room and detailed vulnerability mapping, the State Capital would be able to build up an institutional framework to tackle the future emergency situations,” a senior
BMC official said.
Rain water flows on roads in Malkangiri
Malkangiri: The flood situation continues to remain grim in Malkangiri, which was battered by heavy rain for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday. Motu, Kalimela, Podia and MV-79 have been cut-off from the district headquarters town with rain water flowing five feet above the roads at Kangrukonda, MV-90, MV-96 and Maharajpalli on Malkangiri-Motu route on Tuesday.Kalimela and Podia blocks are the worst hit as a number of villages under the blocks have been cut off. Water level in river Potteru may rise if rain continues.
Ambulance stuck in flood water
An 108 ambulance, carrying an injured woman, was stranded at Kangrukonda on Malkangiri-Motu road as flood water was flowing above the road. Rame Podiami of Kartelguda under Podia village was injured on Tuesday morning when wall of her kutcha house fell on her following rain. She was referred to Malkangiri District Headquarters Hospital from Podia CHC. The ambulance was later diverted back to Kalimela CHC where Rame was admitted in a critical condition.