The Hindu : Other States / Orissa News : Haphazard growth tells on Berhampur

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Friday, Aug 10, 2007
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Haphazard growth tells on Berhampur

Staff Reporter

Lack of master plan cramps planners’ style

Decades-old sewerage system is almost defunct
Houses coming up in farm lands without BDA nod

Photo: Lingaraj Panda

Concrete jungle: Though Berhampur is expanding rapidly, availability of basic civic amenities remains a distant dream. —

BERHAMPUR: Unplanned expansion and lack of proper master plan have become major stumbling blocks in provision of basic urban amenities in the city.

It is an irony that a master plan was last prepared in 1969. The city limits and its population have increased manifold over the years in this major trading centre of South Orissa since then. But, the urban planners of the State seem to have missed to provide a blueprint for the expansion of the city.

The unplanned growth has already started to show up. Every monsoon, vast areas get water logged as a result of improper drainage and sewerage system. A few years ago, the situation was so worse that inflatable boats had to be used to rescue people from waterlogged areas.

As an interim measure, the two major canals on the two sides of the city – Bahana Nala and Sapua Nala – are being renovated so that they could carry more water from the city limits. But, within the city, the decades-old sewerage system is in almost defunct state. With the increase in concrete jungle, the canals that once passed through the city to clear rainwater have vanished and in most of the areas the old drains do not have the proper slope to carry the accumulated water.

Chairman of the Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) Sarat Ranjan Patnaik accepts that lack of proper master plan despite rapid urbanisation and expansion of city limits is a major headache for the planners.

In the past, the BDA proposed to prepare a master plan through a Hyderabad-based firm. But the government turned down the proposal. Now, the government’s Urban Development Department proposes to prepare a master plan. It is to be seen how many years it will take for its preparation.

Now, areas demarcated as agricultural land in and around the city are fast becoming concrete jungle without the knowledge of the BDA.

Mr. Patnaik alleges that people are constructing houses without the approval and knowledge of the BDA on land earmarked for agricultural purpose.

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