Residents travel with their belongings to safer places after water from the Kharkai flooded Shastrinagar residential area in Jamshedpur. Picture by Bhola Prasad

July 6: With 181mm rainfall recorded yesterday — the highest in 15 years — Jamshedpur is sinking.

Heavy downpour for the third consecutive day today threw life out of gear as several parts of the steel city and its adjoining areas staring at flash floods, as water level inched above danger level in Kharkai and Subernarekha.

The local meteorological office recorded 101mm rainfall in the last 24 hours and Patna meteorological office, which monitors weather condition over Jharkhand, predicted more showers in 24 hours.

“The depression, which originated in Bay of Bengal caused heavy downpour across the state,” said T.N. Jha, director of Patna Met office.

Local Met office in-charge P.D. Sen said yesterday’s rainfall of 181mm was the highest in 15 years. Ranchi met office in-charge Kuldip Srivastava said till 5.30pm today the state capital received 22.7mm rainfall. Yesterday it was 70.2mm.

Srivastava reported that the monsoon was vigorous over the Gangetic plains and Jharkhand. “The deep depression has moved westwards and lay centred over Bankura in Bengal around 8.30am today. The depression is likely to move in a westerly direction,” he added.

District administrations of both East Singhbhum and adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan have geared up to tackle emergency situations arising in the wake of the heavy rains.

Senior administrative officers, including circle officers, SDO and BDO visited several low lying areas including Raiyadih, Jai Prakash Nagar, Kuluptanga and Beldih Basti towards Adityapur to take stock of the situation.

Adityapur circle officer Lal Mohan Mahto said government schools, anganwadi centres and community halls have been instructed to stay open at night for emergency.

The water level at Kharkai went up significantly this afternoon as two sluice gates of Bankabahal dam in Orissa were opened.

About 20,000 cubic centimetre water was released from the dam. Chief engineer of Subernarekha Multipurpose Project (Chandil Complex) V. Thakur said: “The level of Chandil dam has risen to 178.9 metres from yesterday’s 177.5 metres.”

In the city, the district administration was heard on public address system asking people to vacate their residences in Shastrinagar, Kadma and Mango.

Local NGOs have also been alerted to stock food packets, medicines and candles. In Mango and Bagbera three boats provided by Jusco have been pressed into service to ferry people to safer zones. Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee officials distributed puffed rice and jaggery to the flood victims at Shastrinagar and Sidhgora.

Meanwhile, train service in the Howrah-Tatanagar section of South Eastern Railway has been disrupted with parts of the track between Jhargram and Gidnih being flooded.

Janshatabdi Express towards Howrah and all locals between Tata and Kharagpur were cancelled.

In Ranchi, prices of vegetables, fish and eggs shot up, mainly due to short supply, as heavy rains cut off connections with the rural areas.

Normal life, too, remained disrupted with below-average attendance in schools and colleges.

However, government offices and the PSUs located here registered normal presence.