Eviction paves way for box drain in Acharya Vihar

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Bhubaneswar: In a bid to prevent flooding in Acharya Vihar area, a major eviction drive was completed at Science Park Basti in the area Monday to facilitate construction of a box drain which would divert excess water from Drainage Channel No. 4.
Zonal Deputy Commissioner (South-East Zone) Binay Kumar Dash led the eviction drive where squads of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and Bhubaneswar Smart City (BSCL) were present. A team of police officials from Sahid Nagar police station was also deployed to prevent law and order situation. At least 15 asbestos cement concrete (ACC) sheds and a 100-ft boundary wall were demolished.
The state government July 18 had approved Rs 5.5 crore for construction of a box cell drain connecting Drainage Channel No. 4 under National Highway-16 up to Regional Science Centre. The amount was sanctioned to prevent flood-like situation caused by the drainage channel in Acharya Vihar during heavy rain.
Earlier, the Cuttack Drainage Division of Water Resources department had started the construction of the box cell drain for a 577-metre stretch with a cost of nearly Rs 10 crore. However, as the Water Resources department later formed a drainage division for Bhubaneswar, along with the recent addition of drainage division for the BMC engineering wing, the BMC Drainage Division will now complete the construction of the remaining 377-metre stretch. Since the drain passes through Science Park Basti, eviction was necessary for construction of the box cell drain. The drainage division of the BMC pegged the project cost at Rs 5.14 crore.
Initially, some residents of the slum started protesting the eviction drive. However, they later cooperated with the squads after they realised that the eviction is going to help the city for better drainage and avert waterlogging during rains.