Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Friday lodged an FIR against Saroj Kumar Patra, the Water Corporation of Odisha’s (WATCO) General Manager (GM), alleging damage due to the corporation’s failure to repair roads extending nearly 5 km in Salia Sahi.
WATCO, also known as PH division, is a government organisation which provides water supply and sewerage services in Bhubaneswar, Jatni and Khurda on behalf of the respective municipal bodies.
Around April, WATCO had dug up areas in the city’s largest slum at Salia Sahi for laying water pipes. However, despite repeated requests by the public and the BMC, the work could not be completed.
“After field visits we came to the conclusion that lanes and by-lanes extending around 5 km in Salia Sahi that come under BMC’s wards 16, 20, 21 and 25 were damaged by WATCO Division-I general manager Saroj Kumar Patra. After several rounds of requests for immediate repair of the road we have lost confidence in WATCO,” said the FIR filed by BMC’s Additional Commissioner Suratha Chandra Mallick.
The FIR said that the damaged roads have created traffic problems and have also affected the movement of sanitation vehicles deployed by the BMC.
Locals have also complained about inconvenience they face while travelling in the area, the FIR against WATCO added.
Salia Sahi is a cluster of 36 slums, said sources.
Around one lakh people live in the 252-acre slum surrounded by city landmarks like the Fortune Tower, the Xavier Institute of Management, the Gopabandhu Academy of Administration and Ekamara Kanan.