Prayagraj: Sangam City, which had recently earned notoriety as one of the country’s hottest cities, finally got the monsoon relief it had been waiting for on Thursday. However, the heavy rain quickly turned into a civic challenge, flooding low-lying areas, disrupting traffic and exposing poor drainage as the IMD warned of more downpour over the next 24 hours.Thick cloud cover prevailed throughout the day, keeping the weather pleasant as intermittent to heavy showers lashed several parts of the city and rural areas. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 32.6 degrees Celsius, a minimum of 27.5 degrees Celsius, and 13.2 mm of rainfall.The widespread rain, however, disrupted normal life in many areas. Overflowing drains and inundated roads caused waterlogging at major intersections and low-lying localities, slowing vehicular movement and inconveniencing pedestrians.While localities such as Civil Lines, Katra, Old Cantonment, Naini, Jhunsi, Daraganj and Allahapur received heavy rainfall, areas including Sulem Sarai, Preetam Nagar, Mundera and parts of western Prayagraj witnessed only light showers, highlighting the uneven distribution of monsoon rainfall across the district.Waterlogging was reported from several areas, including Akhbarpur in Khuldabad, while rainwater entered the premises of the Civil Lines police station. Ironically, the police station is located opposite the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation headquarters but continues to face waterlogging every monsoon.In several old city localities, overflowing drains forced rainwater into houses, damaging household belongings and causing inconvenience to residents.Intermittent power outages in some areas further compounded the problem, disrupting drinking water supply for several hours before electricity was restored.Amid complaints over poor drainage, municipal commissioner Neelam Sai Teja inspected several stormwater drains and sewage treatment plants (STPs) to assess the city’s monsoon preparedness. Finding deficiencies in the functioning of some drains and STPs, he directed officials to immediately rectify the shortcomings, ensure proper desilting and maintain smooth discharge of rainwater, as the monsoon is expected to remain active in the coming days.With the IMD forecasting another spell of heavy rainfall over the next 24 hours, the district administration has directed all civic agencies to remain on alert to tackle waterlogging and minimise disruption to public life.
