Odisha: IDCO begins operations to address the flooding problems in Jagatpur

The Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) has finally begun building a stormwater channel and underground effluent line after evicting encroachers from the area, meaning that the recurring issue of waterlogging at Jagatpur Industrial Estate will soon be history.

Even after a short period of rain, the industrial area floods due to an inadequate drainage system. The issue becomes worse during the monsoon season when stormwater gets into the factories and godowns of many MSMEs that operate in the region, causing damage to the completed items, packaging materials, and raw materials.

The Odisha Industries Association (OIA) has made many appeals, and IDCO has recently begun evicting encroachers in order to build the stormwater channel. Approximately fifty illegal stores, restaurants, and lodging establishments that had been erected on both sides of the road running from the Pepsi Company to the sawmill were removed in the first phase.

For the purpose of discharging storm and industrial wastewater, we have already begun building an underground effluent line and a 24-kilometer stormwater channel on both sides of the road. Storm water will be dumped into the Mahanadi River directly, but industrial wastewater will be dumped into the river after being treated at a sewage treatment plant (STP), according to Parikshita Mohalik, divisional head of IDCO’s Cuttack Division.

“We have informed the collector seeking a piece of land for setting up the STP,” he said. It is anticipated that the drainage and sewerage project will be finished prior to the monsoon.

Additionally, the industrial estate will include up to ten water ATMs available for use by workers, employees, and drivers of vehicles. In the industrial estate, plans have also been laid out for the construction of public restrooms. Additionally, measures are being taken to maintain CCTV monitoring over the whole industrial area in order to monitor unauthorized parking and other illicit activity. According to Mohalik, the amenities would cost around `60 crore.