CUTTACK : The Orissa High Court has directed the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) to come up with remedial measures for areas in the city where waterlogging continues for three to five hours following rains even after the dewatering pumps are made operational in time and run in full capacity.
The special bench constituted for civic problems in Cuttack issued the direction on Wednesday while hearing the problem of waterlogging in Cuttack.
In an affidavit, the CMC submitted that due to the topography of Cuttack city, which lies between and below the river-bed level of Mahanadi and Kathjodi, in low-lying areas discharge of water from drains into the rivers takes time. In certain areas, dewatering from the drains takes up to two to three hours and in the more vulnerable locations it takes up to five hours.
Hence, even if the pumps run at full capacity, water level will not go down immediately until the drains have discharged water that is already flowing through them. It will take two to three hours in some and about four to five hours in other low-lying locations for the water level to go down after the rain has stopped, the affidavit said.
Taking the affidavit on record, the bench of Justice SK Sahoo and Justice V Narasingh directed the CMC to file an affidavit stating the identified areas where such waterlogging is taking place and the remedial measures being taken for redressal. The bench fixed July 27 for further consideration of the waterlogging issue.
The court was also informed that control room numbers have been provided to enable the authorities to respond to the waterlogging situations immediately. Due publicity has been given of such facility so that the same can be utilised by the citizens in distress on account of waterlogging in their areas, Commissioner CMC Bijay Kumar Dash, who was present in court, assured.
Accordingly, the bench directed, “A responsible officer shall be kept in charge of such control room/call centre and the record shall be maintained as to the number of calls received and redressed by taking necessary measures.”
