Heavy rains triggered waterlogging situations in many cities and towns of Odisha recently. Urban infrastructure like roads, homes, cremation grounds, temples, and educational institutions were submerged.
The recent flooding in the State Capital, Bhubaneswar raised many eyebrows on the effectiveness of the local civic body forcing the Assembly Standing Committee to express concern.
When Sujata Behera was returning home from school, she never thought she would see death so near. She had a close shave when she fell into an open drain near her apartment. “The drain was overflowing and there was a manhole I could not see because of the flood water. I fell into it and cried for help. People in my apartment rescued me from a certain death,” said Behera, a teacher and a resident of the Nayapalli area in Bhubaneswar.
Like a drop in the ocean, the example of Behera is just one of many such stories in the waterlogged areas of Bhubaneswar in Ainginia, New Forest Park, Rajiv Nagar, Panchasakha Nagar, and Laxmisagar.
The Millenium City of Cuttack is no different. Heavy rain, which pounded the city on Tuesday and Wednesday, made many low-lying areas inaccessible due to waterlogging.
While Cuttack locals vented their anger over the waterlogging issue, the civic body, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has yet again assured people to resolve the problem.
“We are working on the main drain. Once it is sorted, more than 80 percent of waterlogging issues will be resolved in Cuttack. As far as Badambadi is concerned, there is no problem with plying of the buses. Only the drains are overflowing which will be resolved soon enough,” said Cuttack Mayor, Subash Singh.
Western Odisha town of Bolangir saw a similar kind of situation on Wednesday when many parts of it including Kadambapada, Railway underpass, Talpalipada were submerged in flood water. The temple of the presiding deity of Bolangir, Maa Pataneswari was also inundated in flood water disrupting daily rituals.
Locals alleged that water ingress into Pataneswari temple is a regular occurrence and the endowment department being the authority of the temple does not do a thing to resolve the issue.
“We cannot go anywhere. Can't even cook. If something happens to us, then who will be responsible for that,” asked a local of Bolangir.
The flood situation in Angul town has aggravated over time. Residents of areas like Brahmanadeipada have been subjected to a horrid experience after flood water entered their homes. Even the National Highway that cuts across the city has been inundated in knee-deep flood water.
Balasore town faced a similar situation as well. Areas like Gudipada and Balibila have witnessed waterlogging as well.
So why do our cities have to suffer waterlogging almost every rainy season? As per the experts, urban flooding occurs when city landscapes cannot absorb excess water after prolonged periods of intense rainfall, river overtopping, or stormwater.
Urban flooding is significantly different from rural flooding as urbanization leads to developed catchments, which increases the flood peaks from 1.8 to 8 times and flood volumes by up to 6 times.
The reasons are many. Encroachments on drainage areas like lakes, wetlands, and riverbeds close off ways for the excess water to flow thus causing floods. Pollution of water bodies is choking up the pathways for excess water to flow. Many of the water bodies in the State are filled with non-biodegradable waste, pointing to the poor implementation of waste management as well.
Another major cause of urban flooding is illegal mining activities in rivers which deplete the natural bed causing soil erosion and reducing the water retention capacity of the water body.
The Assembly Standing Committee raised concerns over the issue and emphasized putting the focus on a long-term plan to resolve urban flooding given the rise in population of urban centres like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
"We have proposed to make a long-term master plan so that no such situation arises in the future,” said BJD MLA and Standing Committee Chairperson, Prafulla Samal.