BHUBANESWAR: Residents and commuters of the Smart City had an harrowing experience on Monday as rain water entered hundreds of unelevated houses in the low-lying areas, damaging property.Over 200 houses at Amrapalli, Indrapuri and Saswatvihar in Sailashree Vihar area were flooded with rain and drain water, said AK Patnaik, general secretary of Sailashree Vihar Private Plot Residents’ Welfare Association. “Ground floor of many houses were filled with water to a level of four feet which caused damage to electronic goods and furniture,” said Patnaik.
“For the last five years we have been demanding before the BMC and H&UD Department for development of drainage system in our area. However, no steps have been taken in this regard so far,” Patnaik added.Not just Sailashree Vihar, water also entered hundreds of houses in GGP- canal road, Gouri garden, Jaydev Vihar, Nayapalli-Behera Sahi, Chandrasekharpur, Patia and other places. Many cars and bikes parked or moving on the roads in these areas ended up in nearby garages.
Communication to the areas remained cut off for hours as continuous downpour caused water-logging on many roads with water level rising by two to three feet in some areas.Tukun Kumar Sahoo of GGP-Canal road described how difficult it was for him to reach his friend’s home in Jagannath Nagar. “Knee-deep water was flowing on the entire road,” Sahoo said and added how difficult it was for him to push his two-wheeler through the deep puddle after the engine of his vehicle failed to start.People of other low-lying areas complained that poor drainage network of the city has led to such a disastrous situation. Some people also blamed IDCO, NHAI and Irrigation division over water-logging in their areas.