CUTTACK: Residents of Cuttack on Wednesday woke up to waterlogged roads as incessant rains lashed overnight under the impact of cyclonic storm Arnab, disrupting normal life in the city.
As per official report, the city has received around 22.2 mm rains in the last 24 hours. Among the worst-affected areas included Jhola Sahi, Nandi Sahi, Bhagatpur, Haripur, Sutahat, Patapola, Makarbag Sahi, Tinikonia Bagicha, Hatipokhari, Nua Rausapatana, Nima Sahi, etc., where accumulation of knee-deep water flooded the roads causing inconvenience to local residents.
Residents attributed the situation to the alleged negligence by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) in desilting and cleaning the branch drains well in advance.
“As heavy rains lashed the city on Tuesday night and all throughout the day today, the issue of waterlogging has worsened in our areas.The accumulated stormwater has been causing severe inconvenience,” complained the people of affected localities, blaming the situation to the poor drainage system in the city.
They alleged that the branch drains were lying clogged with silt and garbage, making it difficult for release of stormwater.“Had the CMC authorities taken steps to desilt and clean the branch drains soon after forecast of the cyclone, such a situation would not have occurred,”they rued.
They alleged that the civic body convened a preparatory meeting only on Tuesday and announced that 300 dewatering pump sets had been readied to tackle the situation. “However, officials and engineers of the CMC did not take stock of the condition of branch drains in low-lying areas,” they claimed.
Mayor Subhash Singh said around 100 dewatering pump sets have been mobilised to release the stormwater from low-lying areas. He assured that the situation would improve after the downpour receded. Assistant fire officer (AFO) Prasant Kumar Dhal said the Fire Services department has mobilised high-power dewatering pump sets at eight locations in the city.