BHUBANESWAR: With ‘Smart City’ Bhubaneswar virtually sinking in the deluge on Monday, Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena had his foot in the mouth as he was caught claiming his presence in the rain-hit areas of the Capital city. Despite being out of station in everyone’s knowledge, Jena claimed that he was visiting the areas that faced heavy water-logging turning life upside down in the city.
The Capital on Monday came under the grip of a flood-like situation caused by the incessant rain that continued to lash the city from Sunday night. While residents were going through a harrowing experience, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena and Municipal Commissioner Krishan Kumar remained inaccessible.Reliable sources in the BMC said, the Mayor was in Kolkata. However, when contacted over phone in the afternoon, Jena surprisingly said he had already visited the worst-affected areas and took stock of the situation. To a question as to what were the places he visited, the Mayor promptly replied, “I visited Patharbandha, Chandrasekharpur and Pahala areas.”
Interestingly, top officials of BMC were clueless about Mayor’s visit to these places and his whereabouts during the day. However, when contacted again in the evening, he admitted to have been away from the city during the day and returned a while earlier. “I am continuously monitoring the situation and taking appropriate steps to clear water-logging in the city,” he said.