Old town residents woes overflow, raise a stink

BALASORE: Old Town residents here are a troubled lot. The stench emanating from the unattended, overflowing drains in the main locality is unbearable. The residents’ demands for cleaning the system fell on deaf ears. With monsoon already here, the woes of the residents are only overflowing. While it is a tight rope-walk on the streets, negotiating the foul smelling water is a test for one’s driving skills. The old town till date does not have a proper drainage and sewerage facility and little has been done either by the municipality or town planning officials. Being on the banks of the Budhabalanga river on a comparatively highland should have been an advantage but there is no easy outlet for drainage of waste water. Very often the clogged drains create a myriad of problems for the residents, who are also to be blamed for the choking. People dump anything and everything in the open space outside their homes. All three types of drains spread across the town get silted obstructing the natural flow of water. The health hazards that come with it has the three lakh people in the municipality worried. The open drains are causing hygiene problems besides the mosquito menace, which is unbearable. Abhiram Mohapatra, a retired banker, said due to poor drainage system the roads are being damaged, leading to accidents. While the municipal roads remain flooded with drain water, the Proof Road, particularly from ITI Square to Padhuanpada, has been totally damaged as the rainwater gets stagnated. With the municipality dilly-dallying to construct a drain, the local defence unit and the civic body are at loggerheads over repair of the road. Eminent persons have demanded underground drainage system to solve the problem and ensure regular cleaning of drains. The officials, however, put the blame on the people. Executive Officer SK  Nayak said people here do not have the civic sense to keep the drains free from rubbish. “We are constructing drains and cleaning them regularly and there are proposals to strengthen the drainage system in the town which will be done in phases,” he added.