ROURKELA: Even as 11 stormwater channels were constructed last year at a whopping Rs 110 crore to facilitate smooth evacuation of rainwater, there seems to be no end to the waterlogging woes faced by the Rourkela Smart City till date.
Non-cleaning of intermediary drains in time and faulty drainage engineering are to be blamed. Following heavy rains on Wednesday, hundreds of residents of Haryana Bhawan Lane, Malgodam, Gopabandhupali, Railway Colony slum, Mahtab Road and Nala Road areas and Jagannath Colony among other localities endured a difficult time for hours with filthy rainwater entering their houses.
Some of these localities remained marooned through Wednesday night till the Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) swung into action and created passages for accumulated water. Not only the low-lying areas but the highly congested Rourkela main road also faced waterlogging at many points for around 90 to 120 minutes following heavy rain.
They said the newly-constructed stormwater channels are helpful in the speedy evacuation of rainwater only for those areas where intermediate drains were cleaned in time. It is essential that the RMC cleaned the drains to the base level at least once a year, especially during monsoons. This year also drain cleaning was done manually in June against extra expenditure only to expose the claim.
Reliable sources said it was a usual practice for the RMC to clean the drains manually every year through labour contractor under the supervision of sanitary inspectors. These intermediate drains, clogged with silt and wastes, are unable to pass the stormwater as a result of which it backflows on road and low-lying areas. While at many places, the newly-constructed covered drains have no proper discharge points, in some others, the drains are with faulty elevation. The RMC over the past few days has been carrying out fresh drain cleaning using manpower and machineries.
Rourkela additional district magistrate (ADM) and RMC commissioner Subhankar Mohapatra attributed the dumping of garbage and waste in drains as the reason of clogging. He said the RMC is taking steps to clean the drains.