Bhubaneswar: Amid peak monsoon, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is grappling with a flood of complaints, most of them related to dysfunctional streetlights.BMC officials said sensors in the automated lighting system are intermittently failing due to heavy rain, plunging several city streets in darkness.According to BMC’s grievance cell, of nearly 300 complaints received daily, more than half are linked to streetlights, followed by those of sanitation, drainage, and stray animals. The civic body received 861 grievances between Jan and June this year through seven different channels, including public hearings and emails. Of these, 490 have been resolved, while the rest are pending.“We receive more streetlight-related grievances than any other since mid-June, after the monsoon hit. Rain disrupts the automated sensor-based switching system. While the lights should turn on automatically in the evening, many fail to function. We forward such complaints to the electrical wing for quick resolution,” said BMC deputy commissioner N Ganesh Babu.Apart from streetlights, the monsoon has triggered complaints about waterlogging, overflowing drains, and clogged drainage channels. Sanitation-related grievances include waste pile-ups, irregular door-to-door collection, and lapses in street sweeping. Citizens also continue to raise concerns about stray dogs and cattle, which are forwarded to the animal birth control wing for action.All grievances are compiled on the Bhubaneswar.me portal, where they are tracked and forwarded to the respective departments. Officials said pending complaints are closely monitored to ensure accountability.BMC officials said grievances are also heard at ward offices (each ward has a ward office) and at the zonal level (there are three zones within BMC jurisdiction). If a grievance is recorded by a help desk executive at BMC headquarters, it is passed on to the concerned zonal deputy commissioner, depending on the area.
