ROURKELA: The underlying causes of the urban deluge in Rourkela were laid bare as the city began to recover from the unprecedented flooding on Friday.
Thursday’s flood was driven more by the faulty drainage and overwhelmed underground sewerage than the heavy rains. Thirty hours of intense rainfall virtually turned streets into rivers, submerging almost 80 per cent of the city with no history of urban flooding.
Failing to find way through the overlapping drains of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) and South Eastern Railway (SER), the gushing storm water accumulated on the surface, leading to widespread waterlogging across the city. Compounding the situation, the underground Integrated Sewerage System (ISS) too got overwhelmed leading to back flow of the storm water.
General manager of WATCO (Project) Tushar Meher admitted that the 40 MLD treatment plant at Balughat was overwhelmed with storm water. Technically, water from the plant cannot be directly released to Brahmani river without treatment.
He said four basins of the plant were filled to the brim after receiving three to four times higher volume of storm water than the unit’s actual capacity. There was no way to evacuate the excess water without going through the slow treatment process. It took eight to nine hours for the storm water to recede.
Sources said the ISS was implemented at a whopping cost of around `340 crore by the Odisha Water Supply and Sewerage Board (OWSSB), but its quality and design were mired in controversy. Besides, during implementation of the ISS, a separate proposal was reportedly placed for funding by the Rourkela Smart City Ltd (RSCL) to make emergency provision for evacuation of storm water. However, it was rejected.
Between 2020 and 2023, the entire drainage system of Rourkela was hastily revamped under the Smart City Mission. The RMC also spent huge funds on left-over drain construction. The RSCL had spent around `110 crore towards construction of 11 storm water drains. But Thursday’s flooding rendered all the efforts useless.
Sources said majority of the drains in the city suffer from faulty engineering with uneven elevation and at some places, lack proper discharge outlets.
Sundargarh collector Dr Subhankar Mohapatra said work would be immediately taken up for correction of a faulty culvert and drain system of the SER after the monsoon to prevent inundation of areas along the second entrance of Rourkela railway station and Malgodam slum. There is also a need to improve a storm water drain running through the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) premises.
Mohapatra said for smooth storm water evacuation, a master plan has already been submitted to the government for approval. When pointed out that the ISS lacked emergency discharge outlet for storm water, he said the filtration treatment aspect could not be ignored and appropriate measures are being considered.
RMC commissioner Deenah Dastageer said the unprecedented flash flood-like situation overwhelmed the city’s drainage capacity. The RMC’s preparedness with rapid response mechanism significantly helped in quick disaster mitigation. The corporation has assessed the situation and is gearing up with additional corrective measures, she added