It is evident that most of the crores of rupees, sanctioned for upgrading the infrastructure for Nabakalebar festival of the deities in Puri two years ago, have gone down the drain as the Grand Road, the bus-stand and other parts of the holy city were flooded on Sunday after a downpour for a couple of hours.
The knee-deep water on the roads made movement miserable for thousands of tourists and local residents. locals were of the view that after the Nabakalebar, the drainage system was expected to solve the waterlogging problem, but it has been proved wrong. They alleged that the drains have not been properly de-silted and much of the funds allotted for it has been embezzled, for which the storm waters remained stagnant.
The situation in the bus-stand, for which a large sum of money was invested before the Nabakalebar, resembled a large pond, making it difficult for the passengers to board or get down from the buses. Many of the passengers complained that as they were unable to see the potholes, they got injured or lost their footwear. The overflowing drains also compounded their woes.
The scene in the internal roads was also nothing different with locals finding it a problem to venture out of their houses.
They demanded that the district administration ensure proper drainage facilities for the storm water.