Bhubaneswar: A day after the route of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s carcade had to be diverted due to water logging following a pre-monsoon shower in the state capital, housing and urban development minister Pushpendra Singh Deo reviewed the drainage situation in the city Saturday.
The minister held a meeting with officials of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), drainage division of the works department, the fire services, JICA and the sewerage board. Singh Deo was told at the meeting that the officials of BMC and the drainage division have conducted a survey across the city and identified 27 locations vulnerable to water logging.
It was decided that all the 27 vulnerable locations would be divided among the three administrative zones of BMC and that these locations would be monitored by the respective zonal deputy commissioners (ZDC) for effective and time-bound redressal, said sources.
The minister said that tenders for de-silting of the 10 major drainage channels have been floated by the water resources department and that they would be opened June 10. Work would be completed by the end of June, he added.
Cleaning and de-silting of secondary and tertiary drains under the jurisdiction of BMC is in progress, said officials. While drainage work in 57 wards is being conducted by sanitation contractors, the engineering division of BMC is taking up work in the rest 10 BMC-managed wards, they added.
A dedicated cell has been opened at BMC’s central office for mitigation and management of any emergency, said officials. To manage situations of water logging in the city, adequate mobile pumps will be arranged with the help of Orissa Fire Services, they said.
Officials of the works department were asked at the meeting to take up the cleaning work of drains under their control and open adequate vents so that rainwater from the PWD roads can flow into adjacent drains freely, said sources.
One JCB machine would be deployed in each zone throughout the monsoon season for taking immediate measures in case of blockage of drains due to uprooting of trees or congestion of drains by plastic, paper or other waste materials, said officials. PNN
