Bhubaneswar, Jan. 2: Low pressure-triggered rain continued to dampen the festive mood for the third day in a row today.

It drizzled almost throughout the day on the New Year's eve and has not stopped since. Met officials have forecast that the rain will continue for another day.

While the New Year celebrations were muted because of the inclement weather, there was nothing much to cheer for the next day with Nandankanan, which usually attracts a huge crowd on the New Year's day, registering a low footfall. An official said the turnout at the zoo on January 1 was the lowest in 30 years. Even schools that opened today after Christmas vacations saw low attendance because of the morning shower.

Sources said that on January 1, Nandankanan witnessed a footfall of only 12,007 as compared to the expected turnout of more than 50,000 visitors. The drizzle had kept most people indoors. The footfall in the zoo was also low this morning with weather not having improved.

'The number of visitors picked up as the day progressed,' said zoo director Sudarshan Panda.

Though today the weather changed for the better in Bhubaneswar, most of the coastal districts experienced rain. The meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar predicted that there would be rain at isolated places in coastal belt of the state tomorrow as well. The sky will be clear from Sunday onwards.

Director of the Met office in Bhubaneswar Sarat Chandra Sahu said moderate to heavy rainfall would occur tomorrow at many places in north Odisha, while the southern part of the state would have clear skies. On Sunday, the sky would be clear all over the state.

'In the past 24 hours, Bhubaneswar has received more than 30mm rain. The well-marked low-pressure area over the west central Bay of Bengal and adjoining south Odisha has become less marked. The weather condition will change from January 4,' said Sahu.

Many people across the state, with a significant number in Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts, are a worried lot with floors and walls of houses getting water-soaked in this weather. The unusual trend began from around midday today with sporadic rainfall taking place in both the districts.

'We are worried. The floors have got wet and the walls have become water-soaked,' said Dipti Prakash Patnaik, a resident of Paradip port town.

'We live on the first floor, and the people are a scared lot now. We have experienced winter rain before, but this is a new development. The floors of houses have become slippery,' said Swadhin Kumar Das, a resident of Kendrapara township.

However, officials allayed fears and said there was no cause for worry.

Executive engineer of the roads and buildings (Kendrapara division) M.A. Khan said: 'These sort of things occur due to faulty designing and substandard building construction. However, since we are getting reports of houses getting wet at so many places, this may be because of the fluctuating weather conditions.'

The Bhubaneswar Met centre director said: 'There is no reason to panic. There is excess moisture in the atmosphere right now, and this is being deposited on various different such as floors and buildings. This is a temporary phenomenon.'

In Bhubaneswar, though some schools opened today after the winter holidays, parents preferred to keep their wards at home as it was raining in the morning. 'I saw the school bus half empty this morning. Besides, it was raining. So, I decided not to let my son go to school. Tomorrow is also a holiday. He will go to school on Monday,' said a mother.

Sahu predicted that rain would occur in north and coastal parts of the state on January 8 and 9 after a brief let up for the next few days. The temperature will fall again with a cold spell on the cards, he said.

Significantly, another trough line has formed over the Bay of Bengal - which may cause rain on January 8 and 9. This will bring down the temperature. 'The impact of this trough line will be felt from the second week of January and will lead to rain and low temperature,' said a Met official.