Bhubaneswar, June 3: Heavy shower for an hour this morning flooded the government-run Capital Hospital, exposing the administration's inefficiency in maintaining the drainage system at the health facility.
Relatives of patients and staff members were seen wading through knee-deep water to enter the wards. The labour ward was the worst affected with a number of patients being shifted to other wards. The kitchen and electricity supply room of the hospital were also flooded.
"The city recently topped the smart city list, but a spell of shower exposed the ground reality. If this is the situation at a government-run hospital, one can imagine the condition of people staying in low-lying areas of the city," said a relative of a patient.
Other city areas that witnessed waterlogging are Acharya Vihar, Jayadev Vihar. Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Forest Park, Rajmahal and Vani Vihar.
Bhubaneswar today received a rainfall of 57.7mm. Not only the hospital administration, but the hour-long rain also exposed how unprepared the municipal corporation is to tackle waterlogging in several areas of the city.
The convoy of chief minister Naveen Patnaik, en route to his residence, had to be diverted because of heavy waterlogging on the stretch connecting Biju Patnaik Square and Airport Square.
Several places in the state today received pre-monsoon showers. Met department forecasts that the southwest monsoon will reach the state by the second week of this month.
"Monsoon is likely to reach Kerala in next three to four days. It should reach Odisha by the second week of this month," said director of regional meteorological centre Sarat Chandra Sahu. He also said that there would be more than normal rainfall this season.
Despite pre-monsoon rain at several places in coastal and interior Odisha, residents of west Odisha are yet to get respite from heat with four places in the region today recording temperature of 40 degrees Celsius and more.
Bhawanipatna today sizzled at 45°C, while Sonepur was the second hottest at 42.7°C. Balangir and Titlagarh today recorded maximum temperatures of 41°C and 40°C, respectively.
