Bhubaneswar: With the city recording the highest 108mm rainfall in the state in the last 24 hours, and light to moderate rain continuing on Thursday, normal life was thrown out of gear with waterlogging in low-lying areas of Bhubaneswar, including Soubhagya Nagar, Badagada, Bomikhal, parts of Old Town and stretches along Cuttack-Puri Road.Manorama Mohanty, head of regional IMD centre, said rainfall activity continued in the state under the influence of two separate cyclonic circulation and it’s effect would continue for next two days.Meanwhile, city residents woke up to inundated streets, submerged parking areas and overflowing drains, causing major inconvenience during the morning hours, especially for office-goers, school students and other daily commuters. Residents of a few low-lying areas complained that rainwater entered their houses. “We have been facing the same problem every monsoon. Even a few hours of heavy rain is enough to flood our lane. People had difficulty stepping out of their homes this morning,” said Sanjay Dash, a resident of Soubhagya Nagar.In Bomikhal, residents said the waterlogging exposed shortcomings in the city’s drainage network. “The roads turned into streams overnight. We expect a smart city to have a more effective stormwater management system,” said Priyanka Mishra, a local resident.Notably, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) had taken up a comprehensive parallel drain construction work on Cuttack-Puri Road, but the measures were exposed in the Wednesday night rain.Besides, traffic snarls were reported as water accumulated at multiple points, slowing vehicular movement.Following complaints from residents, BMC deployed dewatering pumps in several affected localities from early morning to pump out the water. Civic teams were also seen monitoring vulnerable pockets and clearing blocked drain inlets.“Our field teams were mobilised immediately after reports of waterlogging were received. Water receded gradually in most affected areas. We are continuously monitoring the situation,” mayor Sulochana Das said, adding the civic body has identified waterlogging hotspots and is undertaking measures to improve the stormwater drainage. “The focus is on ensuring quicker discharge of rainwater and preventing prolonged inundation during intense rainfall events,” Das said.Residents, however, demanded long-term solutions. Many took to social media to post photos and videos of submerged roads and waterlogged neighbourhoods. “The IMD has already forecast more rain in the coming days. It seems that the civic authorities are only giving assurances,” Sibani Ojha, a Badagada resident, said.Meanwhile, light to moderate rainfall also continued in several parts of the state on Thursday, said an India Meteorological Department (IMD) report. The IMD rainfall report in the morning revealed Jenapur in Jajpur and Patamundai in Kendrapara district followed Bhubaneswar’s highest rainfall in the 24 hours with 107mm and 100mm rain respectively. It further forecast that rainfall activity would continue on Friday at most places in the state, with an orange warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall issued for Mayurbhanj district only.Besides, a yellow warning of heavy rainfall would continue in eight districts — Balesore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Sundergarh, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Gajapati and Ganjam. There is also thunderstorm warning for some more districts.The IMD bulletin indicated that heavy rainfall, along with thunderstorms, would continue in some districts at least till Aug 12.Mohanty said the cumulative monsoon rainfall in the state was 24% more than normal.(With inputs from Mohammad Siraj)
