Remember how Hari Patnaik of Unit VI area was washed away by water in an open drain recently? That's not the end of all danger. The City Express brings you how drains in several other localities across the city are lying open
The open drains in the city are posing grave threats to commuters. Though there has been an increase in road accidents due to the open drains, the government and civic authorities of the smart city have apparently remained indifferent to the issue. Not just that, these drains are carriers of diseases.
The recent death of Hari Patnaik (55), a resident of Pichupadia slum under Unit-VI area in the city who was washed away by the water in an open drain in front of his home, testifies the utter neglect on the part of the civic authorities in ensuring proper drainage facility for the residents.
“Had the drain been covered with slabs a precious life would have been saved,” said a lady whose house was mere 50mtr away from the place where the incident took place five days back.
Harihar is not the only person who lost his life. In a similar incident, a nine-year-old boy had also died in 2015 after he fell into an overflowing drain near Mumtaz Ali High School under Nayapalli police station limits.
Likewise, two persons from Patia-Chandrasekharpur area had also died due to heavy rains in 2017. Things appear well in these areas during the summer but the residents bear the brunt when monsoon arrives as these drains that overflow during heavy showers turn into death traps. This has become a regular affair.
Roadside drains in several localities including Jharpada, GGP-Canal road, Unit VI, Gajapati Nagar, Old town, Nayapalli, Ganga Nagar, Niladri Vihar and several other areas in the city are lying open to which the Bhubaneswar Municipality Corporation, works department as well as National Highway Authority of India authorities have turned a blind eye.
Residents of many localities in the city complained that filth from these drains litter the surrounding areas. “Sometimes the drain water enters into our compounds. The choked drains are also the breeding ground for mosquitoes,” said Biswajit Raul, a resident from Chandrasekharpur area.
The BDA and Chandrasekharpur area remained the epicentre of dengue menace in the Capital city this year as 254 people in the locality were tested positive to the disease this monsoon.
However, steps are yet to be taken to cover the open drains in the capital. Of the total 1,660km road of BMC, works department and NHAI in the city, only 410km road stretch have drainage facility, of which around 260km drains don’t have any cover.
The BMC has spent over `35crore for development and revival of drainage system in the city in last two years between 2016-17 and 2017-18. However, steps are yet to be taken to cover remaining open drains.
A BMC official admitted that the provision of budget for drainage repair and renovation is insufficient for which these works are getting delayed.