The broken part of the Ghagra bridge where two persons were swept away by the Subernarekha water. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, June 6: Heavy showers continued to play havoc in the capital as two persons were swept away by the swelling water of the Subernarekha while crossing the Ghagra bridge on the outskirts of the city.

The water-level of Subernarekha soared following incessant rains in the capital and its neighbourhoods since yesterday and flooded the Ghagra bridge, connecting Namkum and Doranda. When two persons, a man and a woman, tried to cross the flooded bridge last evening, they were swept away and drowned.

The victims, according to local residents, belonged to the nearby Chiru village. The Namkum and Doranda police officials, however, feigned ignorance about the incident.

Interestingly, a woman was swept away from the same spot during the last monsoon. Since the height of the bridge is too low, swelling river water often floods it hampering traffic movement. Several promises to increase the height of the bridge, a crucial link between Namkum and Doranda, have fallen flat.

?We could not rescue the duo since the water current was too high on Monday. They should not have taken the risk of crossing the bridge amid strong water current,? said a resident of the area.

One Jethu Lohar of Tetri Toli, too, died yesterday as the wall of his house collapsed following heavy rains.

Meanwhile, the district administration demolished the culvert under construction near the YMCA at Bahu Bazaar today following a road blockade by the residents of Basra Toli. The agitators had heated argument with the residents of Naya Toli, who took the initiative to construct the culvert. The residents of Basra Toli blamed the culvert for the flooding yesterday.

The rain also affected life in other parts of the city, including Shivpuri and Alkapuri on Ratu Road and property worth lakhs were destroyed.

Amid these chaos and destruction, the monsoon clouds finally hovered over the capital skies today.

Weather expert A. Wadood said the capital would experience heavy rains in the next 48 hours.