Assembly Panel For Special Fund To Cover Open Drains In Odisha’s Twin Cities

Bhubaneswar: In the wake of the death of a school student after falling into an overflowing open drain in the city recently, Assembly standing committee on Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department on Tuesday took the decision to recommend allocation of special fund for covering open drains in twin cities.

The decision was taken following a meeting held on the open drain problems in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on the day. The meeting was attended by standing committee members and senior officials of the civic bodies of the two cities while BJD MLA Prafulla Samal chaired it.

Speaking to media after the meeting, committee member and Congress MLA from Cuttack-Barabati Mohammad Moquim said, besides special fund for covering the open drains, it was also decided to set up 10 feet high nets on both sides of the drains.

Stating that the representatives of Bhubanesar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) placed detailed plans for the drainage system, Moquim said it was also decided to remove illegal encroachments over the drains.

It can be noted that a 15-year-old school student was swept away in rain water after he fell into an open drain in Shatabdi Nagar of Bhubaneswar last month.