``During my night rounds of the city, I found a large number of safai karamcharis, who should be on duty, absent,'' Mohapatra told Express Newsline.

Though the Emergency Cell had been created to tackle monsoon-related problems, the casual approach of the erring employees had defeated its very purpose, a senior civic official said, adding that in order to set an example for other employees, 17 safari karamcharis and two security guards had been suspended.

It may be recalled that the civic chief had earlier suspended three employees posted at North zone. While a senior clerk was suspended for his underworld links, a technical assistant and a supervisor were suspended following the Katargam lake tragedy.

Mohapatra had also transferred two senior officials from Katargam after Municipal Advisor P C Shah submitted his report on Lake tragedy, holding the two officials guilty of dereliction of duty.