Odisha: Solid waste dumping on drains add to monsoon woes in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: With the incessant rains, as the city is fighting bravely to address the drainage issues with a dedicated team and control room, the various on-site teams of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) have come across the other side of the story, i.e. how poor citizens’ awareness has clogged the water channels and drains all over the state capital, and, how due to dumping of solid waste into the water channels, the latter have less or no space left to flow properly and support the drainage infrastructure.
Strange! But true. When the entire city remains vigilant and the Control Room (0674-2430038) at BMC has so far received 24 calls during last 36 hours (till the filling of the report), it has become a proven fact that blocking the drains and drainage channels with dumped solid wastes and encroachment of the water channels have emerged as two major concerns for the civic body.
This morning the Drainage Channel No. 1 was made free from the thermo-cool, packing materials and polythene with which the water body was not flowing properly. However, after it was cleaned today a senior BMC official said “the people should also realise now that dumping solid waste into the drains and drainage channels could result in such a mess across the city. It is high time they must stay away from the major drains and drainage channels and never drop any waste into them.’’
Regarding the encroachment over the natural drainage channels, the surveillance team of BMC demolished a 50-foot-long boundary wall near the meeting point of Mancheswar Railway Coach Factory and VSS Nagar area adjoining the Dhirikuti Basti. The boundary wall raised by an private individual was blocking the flow of Drainage Channel No. 3.
Earlier a small boundary wall was also demolished blocking the water discharge from Draonage Channel no. 2. It can be mentioned here that the Drainage Channel No. 2 and 3 are flowing in the area of Sainik School, Mancheswar and VSS Nagar and near the railway track of VSS Nagar both are forming a united water body and later flowing through VSS Nagar and then reaching Gangua Nullah.
The fruit vendors and the `Kawadiwallas’ of Kharvel Nagar are causing a havoc for the drainage issues over the Drainage Channel No. 5, which originates from the catchment near the Gurudwara Singh Sabha. The BMC surveillance teams have gathered information how the dumping of fruit packaging materials and discarded wastes from the Kawadiwallas near the Sriya Talkies Complex, have caused a serious blow for the rain water clearance of the Drainage Channel No. 5
While the Drainage Channels No. 6, 7, and 8 are running without any major issues along their banks, the Drainage Channel No. 9 has got some issues of encroachment and dumping near the Ainginia Square. Today a major de-silting work of the bed of Drainage Channel no. 10 was carried out near Bayababa Math Lane.
While the city is generating more than 500 MT of solid waste on a single day, many are still dumping them into the nearby drains or drainage channels.
“Unless we devise a unique motivational plan and convince the citizens on the bad effects of congesting the drains and drainage channels, we would face a horrible water management scenario in future,’’ said a senior BMC official.