BHUBANESWAR: The happiness over the first monsoon showers on Thursday turned into misery for residents in the state capital as stormwater flooded several roads and caused extensive waterlogging in low-lying areas, thanks to poor drainage network and desiltation work.
The smart city, which has been reeling under the scorching heat for the last several days, received over 90 mm of rain till the afternoon. The pleasure of the initial showers, however, was short-lived as rainwater flooded almost all major localities in the city affecting vehicular traffic for hours. In the absence of proper cleaning of drains, the road near Kendriya Vidyalaya - 1 turned into a pool forcing students and their parents to wade through the water accumulated on the road.
Similar scenes were witnessed on Janpath Road, Kalpana-Laxmisagar stretch, Forest Park Road, Chandrasekharpur Road and many other places. Sishu Bhawan Road, less than a mile away from the residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Biju Patnaik International Airport - was also waterlogged for nearly an hour affecting traffic on the busy thoroughfare. In the old town, the busy Ratha Road too remained flooded as water from the stormwater channel started overflowing due to a delay in the completion of the culvert work.
Sources said Iskcon temple road along NH-16 also remained blocked due to the accumulation of stormwater on the stretch. Apart from these roads, partial waterlogging was reported from several low-lying residential areas including parts of Jharpada Jagannath Nagar and Mahadev Nagar. The pain of commuters, returning home, multiplied on Jagannath Nagar road, Bomikhal-Rasulgarh stretch and Crown-Indradhanu Market road due to road digging work undertaken by utility providers.
Though BMC officials had earlier said the agencies have been asked to wind up road digging prior to monsoon for the safety of pedestrians and commuters, the road near Bomikhal overbridge was blocked for sewerage pipe laying work. Work was also in progress on Jagannath Nagar Road 1 and other places.
Despite spending crores on drainage desiltation and sanitation in the city, the civic body was caught unprepared to deal with the situation.
Experts blamed the wiping out of soil beds and laying of pavers and concrete roads in the name of development for the waterlogging. Coming down heavily on BMC for its inability to resolve the drainage issue in the city, BJP’s Bhubaneswar district president Babu Singh asked the civic body why it is punishing the people of the city in such a manner.
“You had the entire summer in your hand. Monsoon also arrived late. Wasn’t this time sufficient to fix the problems pertaining to clogged drains in the city? What mistake did people of the city commit to getting punished in this way?” Babu asked.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, mayor Sulochana Das visited the areas affected by waterlogging.
“The civic body has taken adequate measures. However, ongoing work has affected the draining of water in some places. This would be resolved soon,” she assured.