Cuttack waterlogging agitates residents

Opposition Congress has threatened to launch an agitation here accusing Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) of being "callous" towards severe waterlogging in the city after two days of unseasonal rains.
Some parts of the city have already witnessed commotions yesterday as irate residents staged road blockades by burning tyres. Residents at Gamhadia and Deulasahi were furious as muck-filled rain waters have gushed into their houses inundating every room for the past two days.
"All our rooms, including the kitchen are filled with ankle-deep water for the past 48 hours and we have not been able to cook for two days," says Ratan Sinha, a resident of Mahaveer Colony of Deulasahi adding that the old and children in his family have all taken ill.

"Despite making repeated calls to the local corporator and Mayor, nobody is bothered to remove water logging from our areas," said another resident at Gamhadia.
Agitated over the indifferent attitude of the civic body authorities, the residents on the day staged a road blockade. It was only after the intervention of the police that the road blockade was lifted.
Elsewhere in the city, the roads are reeling under waterlogging as the nearby drains are choked after the silts lying on the edges of it have again found their ways into the drains due to the unseasonal rains for past three days.

"De-siltation of drains were done in very careless manner," alleged the city Congress chief Md Moqim saying the mucks removed from the drains were allowed to lie on the edges of the drains for days together and they were not lifted.
Meanwhile, the CMC authorities are also in a tizzy over backward flow of the muck into rains as they would not be able to meet the High Court deadline of de-siltation. The HC last month had asked CMC officials to finish de-siltation of all drains by May 31.