Focus on 2 drainage channels in city to tackle urban flooding | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: To efficiently tackle urban flooding and enhance water body management, housing and urban development secretary Usha Padhee conducted a detailed review of the state of city’s major drainage channels on Saturday.The focus was on Gangua nullah and Daya West canal, which serve as primary drainage outlets for the city. A delegation from the urban development department visited the two water bodies on Saturday to assess their situation.During early morning inspection, Padhee, accompanied by a high-level team of officials including Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Rajesh Pravakar Patil and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) vice-chairman N Thirumala Nayak, assessed the state of the water channels.The comprehensive review focused on immediate challenges and long-term solutions for the water bodies, which fall under the BMC’s jurisdiction. Key areas of discussion included desilting operations, cleaning initiatives and measures to restore water flow.“We need to adopt a holistic approach that combines engineering solutions with ecological restoration and community engagement,” said Padhee, directing officials to develop a time-bound action plan that aligns with the city’s vision of becoming flood-resilient.The inspection also addressed concerns regarding encroachment issues and structural bottlenecks affecting the water-carrying capacity of the channels. The team emphasised the importance of integrated planning for enhancing both functional and environmental aspects of these water bodies.Recently, state govt had decided to rejuvenate the Gangua nullah, with the water resources department establishing a high-level committee to draft restoration plans.In a related development, govt officials recently visited Jaipur to study the Amanisha nullah rejuvenation project, aiming to implement similar successful strategies for the drainage channels in Bhubaneswar.“This is a pre-monsoon activity. We reviewed the state of the two water bodies and discussed short-term strategies. Long-term plans for the rejuvenation of the water bodies will also be implemented parallelly,” an official of urban development department said.
