SAMBALPUR: Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) has launched a drive to evict encroachment along the natural water channel which flows through Ambira Nagar in the city in a bid to resolve the decade-long water logging problem during monsoon.
The newly developed Ambira Nagar gets inundated during monsoon every year as rainwater flowing in the drains is not discharged through the natural channel that has been blocked by encroachment. Sources said the ground floor of all the houses in the colony is submerged by knee-deep water after heavy rain.
The colony was developed in the late 1990s after converting a large patch of agriculture land into homestead land. Initially, there was no water logging in the area and water was flowing through the natural four-km water channel. The channel starts from Kainsir here and joins Haradjoar, a tributary of river Mahanadi, at Dhankauda. The water-logging, which was first experienced a decade back, has worsened over the years.
The district administration led by Collector Balwant Singh besides the officials of the SMC and Water Resources Department visited Ambira Nagar in the first week of June and took stock of the situation. Later, Singh directed the officials to revive the natural drain and asked Sadar Tehsildar Rajendra Minz to identify both Government and private land along the water channel to remove encroachment. Subsequently, the Revenue Department identified the land and the municipal authorities launched the eviction drive.
Deputy Commissioner of SMC Sudhansu Kumar Bhoi said the width of the water channel is 13 feet. But, it has been narrowed down to four feet at some places due to encroachment causing obstruction in smooth flow of water. The drive would be completed within a couple of days, he added.