With Sambalpur city facing artificial flooding every year due to the clogged drains, the Sambalpur Municipal Corporation is working overtime to clean them before the monsoon arrives.
Deputy Commissioner of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation, Sudhansu Kumar Bhoi said cleaning of drains in three Wards has been completed and work is underway to desilt all the main drains of 41 Wards in the city.
“We are planning to hire an additional 100 sanitation workers to step up the cleaning of drains before it starts raining,” he said. The civic body had already de-silted all the drains in the city during the jaundice outbreak last year.
On the other hand, the Irrigation wing of Agriculture Department is cleaning the Dhobijoar nullah and Tengna nullah, which carry the sewage of the city. Desilting and cleaning of these two nullahs will ensure free flow of water into river Mahanadi.
The civic body is also installing 15 pumps at three locations of Balibandha, Binakhandi and Chandan Nagar in the city from where sewage and rain water is released into river Mahanadi.
Similarly, work on two pumping stations at Balibandha and Binakhandi is nearing completion. Work is being implemented by Odisha Construction Corporation Limited (OCCL) and 18 pumps will be installed at these two pumping stations to prevent water-logging.
Come monsoon, the low lying areas along Dhobijoar nullah and Tengna nullah that carry sewage and water from canal head of the Hirakud Command area, gets flooded.
The Dhobijoar nullah opens to Mahanadi at Balibandha and Binakhandi. Since water level of the river rises, the sluice gates which release water from the nullah are closed to prevent the backwaters of Mahanadi from flowing into the city. As a result of this, water in the nullah flows back into the city resulting in deluge.
The pumping stations proposed to be located along river Mahanadi will ensure that the flood water can be pumped into the river during monsoon. This will also solve water-logging problems in the low lying areas.
Once constructed, the pumping station will bring relief to the residents of Charbati, Mandlia, Chandan Nagar, Binakhandi, Balibandha, Govindtola, Bahalpada in Sakhipara, Hirakud Colony, Thakurpada, Housing Board Colony, Cheruapada, Mudipada and Kumbharpara besides other low lying areas of the city which have been bearing the brunt of artificial flooding.
The citizens of Sambalpur finally heaved a sign of relief as moderate rain on Wednesday brought temporary relief to parts of the district which was passing through a long spell of heat wave. The rain, accompanied by gale and thunderstorm, lashed the city for about half-an-hour. The strong wind damaged three huts and ripped off hoardings in the city. With dark clouds still hovering over the City, more rain is expected on Thursday too. The city reeled under 46 degree Celsius temperature for over a week forcing people to stay indoors and officer-goers left to their workplace early to escape the scorching heat. The nights were not cool either as hot winds and low voltage in some areas made life miserable.
