Bhubaneswar a coveted liveable city? Sishu Vihar residents beg to differ

BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar ranked fourth in the Ease of Living Index 2020, the last report of which was released in 2021. This makes the state capital one of the most liveable cities in India, but the residents of Sishu Vihar in Patia area beg to differ.
The residents living in this important locality, which is surrounded by many major educational and recreational institutions, apartments and more lack even basic civic infrastructure such as good roads, adequate draining system and functional street lights.
They complained that despite registering repeated grievances regarding repair of roads and drains, maintenance of street lights in the locality, the civic authorities are turning a blind eye.
“Several roads, mainly the inner lanes are in a pathetic condition for years now. We have reached out to the authorities quite a number of times but we get only assurance while the ground reality remained unchanged,” Narayan Ojha, a resident of the locality, said.
Sanitation, especially irregular lifting of construction and demolition waste in different parts of the locality, is yet another area where citizens complained of the most. Often dumping of such waste not only pose a challenge to cleanliness but is a health hazard as well. The drainage issues are manifold. In certain areas, wastewater often clogs the drains due to irregular de-silting work and overflows on the road.
“We have identified the patches which need of repair. The work orders have been issued accordingly and it will be taken up in a fortnight. Street lights are being repaired and maintained regularly,” local councillor Preetinanda Routray said.