Dr Mahapatra has said Wednesday that the government has taken this "long-standing issue" seriously.
"The open drains are a long-standing issue in the city. Our government has taken taken this issue seriously," said Dr Krushna Chandra Mahapatra in the ongoing budget session of 17th Odisha Legislative Assembly.
He also took a dig at former government saying the BJD government didn't have time to do the needful in this issue.
"A budget of Rs 200 crore has been allocated in this regard," informed Dr Krushna Chandra Mahapatra.
"According to NGT guidelines, we cannot cover all the open drains. Therefore, we will barricade those open drains to make it safe for the people," explained the Housing & Urban Development Minister.
Dr Krushna Chandra Mahapatra has said that the works of laying slabs on a number of open drains as well as the barricading work of the remaining drains will be completed by December. "An order has been issued in this matter," Dr Mahapatra concluded.
The government is also focussing on solving the waterlogging issue in the Capital City.
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