Berhampur: A day after a man was swept away in an open drain in the state capital, Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) on Sunday started gearing up to cover its open drains and put up barricades in vulnerable areas.“The work is going on in several areas to cover the drains with concrete slabs. Temporary barricades will be set up in some other drains to avoid any such mishaps,” said BeMC commissioner Sasya Reddy, adding a meeting was held by mayor Sanghamitra Dalei on Saturday to discuss monsoon preparedness.“We advise people not to enter the vulnerable areas where barricading has been done,” said the mayor.The city has around 400 km of drains. While around 60% of drains have been covered with concrete slabs, the work was going on for others, sources said. The drains at Braja Nagar, Rampa Sahi fish market, near Bank Colony, Gandhi Nagar, near MKCG Medical College and several other areas remain uncovered.The residents in these areas are, meanwhile, in the grip of fear after the sweeping away of a man in the open drain in Bhubaneswar.“The BeMC should learn lessons from Bhubaneswar and take steps to cover all the open drains in the city in a war-footing manner before the active monsoon,” said Kanhu Charan Pati, former president of BJP’s Ganjam district unit, adding in the past, at least two people, including a 10-year-old boy, died and several others sustained injuries after falling in the open drains in Berhampur.The BeMC has identified at least eight waterlogging-prone and several low-lying areas in the city.The commissioner also asked the private agencies, entrusted with sanitation works, for proper and regular cleaning of the drains for the free flow of rainwater.
