CUTTACK: A comprehensive disaster management plan has been drawn up to address the perennial problem of urban flooding in the city.The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Wednesday endorsed the Cuttack City Disaster Management Plan, 2019, in a meeting chaired by collector Arbind Agarwal. The plan was drawn up following an order by the state government.District emergency officer Prabodh Rout said the Cuttack City Disaster Management Plan, 2019, had a three-pronged strategy to tackle floods - construction of underground drains, setting up of electricity-operated permanent pumping stations in areas most vulnerable to waterlogging and reorganizing relief operations in areas marooned by excessive rain and waterlogging.Three underground drains will be constructed to serve as channels for drainage of rainwater only and electricity-operated permanent pumping stations will be built in 50 locations. The expenditure would be borne by the District Mineral Fund, Rout said on Thursday. Tenders would be invited within two to three days to ensure completion of the projects before the onset of the monsoon this year, he added.As per the plan approved by the DDMA on Wednesday, two of the three proposed underground channels will be connected to the Mahanadi. The third will be linked to the Kathajodi.The city currently has a drainage system stretching up to 1,724 km. It includes main drains, branch drains and tertiary drains. Their carrying capacity has decreased because of increase in the intensity of rainfall in recent years.One of the underground channels has been planned from Kanika Chak to the Mahanadi. It will carry rainwater from Srivihar Colony, Stuartpatna, Sidheswar Sahi and Tulsipur. The second drain has been planned from behind the Samaj office to the Mahanadi and it will carry the water of Pattapol, Khatbin Sahi, Rovers Street and Kazi Bazar. The third underground channel has been planned from near the Syed Seminary Chakh to the Kathajodi, and it will drain the Gamandia, Samanta Sahi, Rausapatna, Pithapur, Jhola Sahi and Bangali Sahi areas.While 234 locations in the city have been identified as vulnerable to waterlogging, the 50 most vulnerable have been identified for the electricity-operated permanent pumping stations. These will be handed over to the people of the localities instead of the pump drivers of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation The permanent pumping stations will be in addition to the 12 permanent ones of the civic body. The municipal corporation deploys more than 200 diesel-driven de-watering pumps. Misappropriation of diesel often leads to a delay in the clearance of accumulated rainwater.Though funds will be drawn from the District Mineral Fund, the construction work for both projects will be done under the supervision of engineers of the Odisha Water Supply & Sewerage Board, which is implementing the integrated sanitation project for sewerage system in the city, official sources said.Under the new disaster management plan, schools and educational institutions will no longer have to seek the approval of the district administration to suspend classes on account of rain.Besides, there will be standing orders for officials to undertake relief operations in the areas allocated to them, instead of waiting for orders. Distribution of relief material from private sources will be decentralized to the ward level for faster reach, the emergency officer said.

Stay updated with all the Latest Cuttack headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.