Cuttack, July 20: Two consecutive days of incessant rain triggered by a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal has spurred waterlogging in several localities here.

Officials of the meteorological department said that Cuttack had received over 143mm rainfall in the last 24 hours.

The downpour left several localities waterlogged throughout the day, causing severe inconvenience as the wastewater from major surface and storm water channels overflowed and entered homes.

“Once again the Cuttack Municipal Corporation has failed to address the waterlogging problem as most of the low-lying areas remained underwater. Besides, a lot of traders have been affected as their stocks kept in godowns have been damaged,” said Dinesh Rout, a resident of Pithapur.

Rout said that bulk of the storm water channels had failed to carry the wastewater generated due to obstruction at several points.

Not only Pithapur, but also areas including Kanika Chak, Stewart Patna, Mahanadi Vihar, Sikharpur, Gamandia, Meria Bazar and KVK Road were waterlogged.

However, the residents of Patapole, Sutahat, Khatbin Sahi, Rovers Street and Arunoday Nagar were worst hit as they had to wade through waist deep waters.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and hope that it will improve by evening. We will soon initiate measures to provide cooked food to affected people at Patapole and other localities by tonight,” said A. Sreedevi, councillor of ward No. 17.

The residents at Khatbin Sahi had blocked the road to protest against the callous attitude of the civic body in addressing the waterlogging situation.

“We were almost trapped inside our homes,” said Sanjay Mohanty, a resident of waterlogged Khatbin Sahi.

Residents felt that ongoing construction work of the integrated sanitation project, which is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, was behind waterlogging in the city.

What also aggravated the waterlogging was the failure of corporation officials to take timely action in opening sluice gates at Khannagar and Matrubhawan that remained closed till 8 this morning.

The severe waterlogging conditions prompted senior officials of the civic body and councillors to initiate measures for fast clearance of accumulated water from the localities.

“The city has received nearly 140mm rainfall in the last 24 hours that aggravated waterlogging situation in the city,” said commissioner of the corporation Gyana Ranjan Das.

Das said that over 167 motor pumps had been deployed at several points to ensure fast clearance of water from several localities.

“We have already instructed engineers to monitor the situation particularly at two points — Khannagar and Matrubhawan — to ensure fast clearance of rainwater,” he said.