Waterlogged street at Badambadi in Cuttack on Friday. Telegraph picture

Cuttack, July 19: The monsoon preparedness measures of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) got washed away as heavy rain lashed the city this afternoon.

The downpour, which lasted for over one-and-half hours, left most localities waterlogged and local residents fuming. The city received 56.6mm rainfall today.

Areas including Pithapur, Seminary Chaak, Meria Bazaar, Patalpole, Buxi Bazaar, YMCA Road, Kala Vikash Kendra Road, Khalasi lane, Kesharpur, Friends colony, Magalabag were waterlogged for several hours.

Similarly, residents at Roxy lane, Glass Palace lane at Badambadi, Rausapatna, Haripur, Sikhapur, Chauliaganj and Nayabazaar also faced problems due to waterlogging.

“It is for the first time that Cuttack witnessed such a heavy downpour this monsoon and it seems that CMC has not initiated any concrete measures to prevent waterlogging,” Sachidananda Behera, a resident of Sutahat.

Behera said though waterlogging was a regular feature in the city during rainy season, the discharge of rainwater was much quicker earlier.

Local residents said that earlier it took around two-and-half hours for the rainwater to get cleared through various surface and storm water channels in the city.

“There was acute waterlogging at several areas till 6pm which is certainly a matter of concern keeping in mind the formation of low pressure over Bay of Bengal,” said Ananta Jena, a resident of Mission Road.

The accumulation of rain and drain water on major streets caused inconvenience to the commuters who were seen struggling to move around in the waterlogged areas.

A lot of passengers suffered as the entire Badambadi bus stand and the main road was also waterlogged. “I had to leave for an urgent official work to Angul by bus. But I was stranded near Badambadi due to the rain and later I had to wade through the dirty water to board the bus,” said Sitam Das, a passenger.

Senior officials on the other hand said that adequate steps are being taken to clear the water though motor pumps at various localities.

“There was waterlogging atin various localities as the city witnessed rainfall nearly five times more than the usual rainfall,” said city mayor Saumendra Ghose.

Ghose further said that already efforts had begun to discharge accumulated water from the localities using motor-pumps.

Moreover, motor pumps are also being deployed at several low lying areas where ever the corporation is getting complaints about waterlogging.