For the second consecutive day on Sunday, heavy rain caused waterlogging in the low-lying areas of the city throwing life out of gear.
Several low-lying areas like Acharya Vihar, Paika Nagar and Jayadurga Nagar and other areas were flooded bringing misery for the residents.
However, the situation in front of the ISKCON temple on the National Highway -16 was the worst. Cars and auto-rickshaws virtually floated in the water.
The waterlogging brought vehicular communications to a grinding halt and led to traffic snarls.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporations (BMC) washed off its hands off the problem and blamed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for it.
BMC Mayor Ananta Naryan Jena said, “The BMC has repeatedly written to the NHAI to construct two drains, but the NHAI is dragging its feet. The drains could have drained the excess water. We have also approached the Works Department.”
But locals said waterlogging in front of the ISKCON is a perennial problem they have been facing for years. Despite repeated reminders, the BMC has been dishing out lame excuses year after year instead of solving the problem. If this is the situation after an hour’s rain, one can imagine what would be the situation if it rains continuously.
However, knowledgeable sources said that instead of waiting for the excess waters to get drained into the 10 natural channels, the BMC should improve the drainage system, which has become dilapidated with the expansion of the city. Besides, the drainage channels don’t have excess water. It means the water is not reaching the channels due to encroachments. So, the BMC cannot pass the buck to the NHAI and claim that it is not their responsibility.