The newly-formed Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) Council is going to face a Herculean task in the coming rainy season as the city is staring at an unprecedented waterlogging situation. Only two days of unseasonal rains late last month had left most of the roads waterlogged and the situation did not improve for over 48 hours even as the civic body authorities pressed into operation several water pumps.
Waterlogging is a perennial problem of the Millennium City for its peculiar topographic, which is like a Kadai surrounded by rivers on three sides. But this year, the situation is likely to aggravate further because the entire drainage and sewerage system of the city is in the midst of a major overhauling.
But what worries the residents a lot is the fact that the existing drains of the city are now choked to their brims preventing free passage of rainwater through them into the main drains. Even as the annual desilting of drains that was undertaken under the guidance of the Odisha High Court missed its deadline of May 31.
“The problem has been further compounded by the choking of the drains with huge quantities of polythene and efforts are now being made to remove all of them,” said city Deputy Mayor Ajay Barik. The new council, which is going to meet for the first time on June 10, would take up this issue on a priority basis, he said.
Meanwhile, the CMC has chosen the heads of all its nine standing committees that were formed last month to oversee the entire activities of the municipal affairs. Even as some opposition Congress and BJP corporators raised objections to the formation of the standing committees and selection of their heads, the ruling BJD, having an absolute majority in the council, did not pay heed to the objections.