Why does the Capital City get inundated every time it rains? Blame it on the changed topography of the city or the inefficient and faulty drainage system, the city floods even if it rains for even 30 minutes.
While internal drains are choked, broken; encroachments alongside natural drains have narrowed them, further blocking the free flow of water. Concretisation of the Capital city has increased the flow of rainwater from buildings into the drains as well as on the roads. As a result, inflow of rainwater into the drains has increased manifold even as the size of many drains remain the same.
What compounds the situation is, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not made efforts to remove silt at regular intervals from the drains.
The city has 10 natural drains, which are taken care of by the Housing and Urban Development Department and about 900 km-tributary drains which are under the supervision of the BMC. Most of these are in poor state.
Faulty Town Planning
Sources said ignoring the fundamentals of town planning and allowing haphazard constructions in violation of laws are proving costly for the Government and civic agencies now.
Lack of open space, constructions blocking the path of natural water flow, encroachment of either sides of storm water drains and non-integration of small drains from different areas and connecting them to natural drains are some of the identified reasons why rain causes havoc in the city.
‘‘There are enough provisions in the law, but Government’s planning and developing agencies had closed their eyes when all these illegal developments were happening right under their nose,’’ alleged a senior member of Directorate of Town Planning.
Work on Natural Channels Stuck
Back in 2010, Housing and Urban Development Department had chalked out a `600 crore plan for construction of a chain of storm water drains, besides renovating the existing ones. It was decided that the project would be executed with funds available under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) by the drainage division of Water Resources Department, while the Housing and Urban Development Department would monitor its progress. Under this, renovation work of nine natural water channels in the city began with an allocation of ` 68 crore in the first phase.
Accordingly, detailed project reports were drawn up for renovation of drainage channels 1,2,3 and 4 by the drainage division, Cuttack, and channels 5,6,7,8 and 10 by Bhubaneswar drainage division, both under Water Resources Department. Chief Engineer (drainage) RC Panda said renovation of channel 9 would require an amount of `80 crore, so this was kept for second phase.
The renovation works, however, have been sluggish due to encroachments and legal tangles. ‘’Although a detailed project report was prepared by both the drainage divisions and work started, it is now stuck. There are a few builders and locals who have obtained stay orders from the High Court on these works as the new drainage channels would pass through the areas where their properties are located. For example, there is a stay order on the land behind TTD Kalyan Mandap through which channel 4 comprising Vani Vihar, Jaydev Vihar, Acharya Vihar and Unit-IX passes,’’ Panda said. The low-lying areas of Acharya Vihar, especially, which falls along channel 4, is in news for flood-like situations every monsoon. Panda explained that apart from encroachments in the area, the existing drainage system does not suffice discharging storm water. ‘’There are just two hume pipes under the road from Vani Vihar to Acharya Vihar for discharge of rain water and considering the number of houses that have come up in the area, these are not sufficient,’’ he said.
Similarly, Chandrasekharpur-Damana-Patia stretch through which channel 5 passes has been encroached upon by builders.
‘’Demolition of unauthorised constructions and land acquisition is a lengthy process and it cannot be done unless the Government intervenes,’’ he said.
In the meantime, the project cost has risen to Rs 130 crore.
The Chief Engineer informed that tenders for channels 5,6,8 have been finalised and work orders will be given next week. On the other hand, as tenders floated twice for channel 7 did not evoke any response, the department has now decided to give the work to Odisha Construction Corporation.
Blockage of Internal Drains
Another major problem during monsoon is blockage of internal drains with garbage or plastic bags which result in flooding of the roads.
‘’Internal drains are vital links to the major water channels. Unless these small drains are renovated properly, water cannot be discharged to the main drains smoothly and this would lead to water-logging. In many areas, siltation and careless disposal of solid waste have been major causes behind blockage of the drains,’’ said Water Resources Department Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra.
BMC has been extremely slow in de-silting these drains. Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said so far, 97-km stretch of drains have been de-silted. ‘’Works are on in full swing and we are hopeful of clearing all of them before monsoon sets in completely,’’ he added.
