LIFE IN WATERLOGGED CAPITAL AND PILGRIM CITY

Reserve Police Lines, Puri

Railway Station, Puri

Sri Ram Temple, Puri

Vegetable Market, Puri

Railway Station, Bhubaneswar

Acharya Vihar, Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The low-pressure induced overnight rain and negligence of the municipal corporation on Tuesday threatened a repeat of the flash flood situation that had hit the city on July 22.

The rain that started around 7pm on Monday, intensified overnight and continued to lash the city till early on Tuesday morning. The rain left several parts of Bhubaneswar, including Old Town, GGP Colony, Surya Nagar and Soubhagya Nagar, Nayapalli and Acharya Vihar, waterlogged.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) had already carried out eviction drives in Nayapalli and Acharya Vihar to prevent waterlogging in these areas. But Tuesday's rain proved that a lot more needs to be done in these areas where waterlogging is a perennial problem.

The problem had aggravated in several areas as the civic authorities did not respond to emergency call throughout the night. Sources said the newly opened helpline number received calls at night, but those were attended to only in the morning.

"The rainwater rushed inside our house at midnight. When I came out, I saw the entire area around my house waterlogged. I called the corporation's helpline number, but I was told that it would be resolved only in the morning," said Soubhagya Nagar resident Dilip Sahoo.

Civic authorities, however, claimed that they had attended to all calls and officials are on the job from early Tuesday morning.

"We mobilised our officials and they were at work from 3am. Motor pumps of the BMC and the fire department were working overtime," said BMC deputy commissioner Srimanta Mishra.

The BMC received 37 complaints on its helpline (0674-2432281) at the storm water control room, the BhubaneswarOne helpline numbers (1800-345-0061 and 0674-2548295) got 43 calls.

"We have pumped out water from several areas and also continued eviction drive," said a civic body official.#Repeated incidents of waterlogging have left residents here angry.

"The officials live in well maintained government quarters, while we are left to suffer. They should be penalised for such negligence," said Jiten Mohanty, a resident of Forest Park.

The incessant rain also forced the district authorities of Puri, Khurda and Cuttack to order rainy day at schools and other educational institutions on Tuesday.

The Utkal University decided to postpone the Plus Three fourth semester exam, which was scheduled for Tuesday. A fresh date will be announced later.

According to the local meteorological centre, the rain will continue in the coastal belt for the next 48 hours as a severe low-pressure area is still active over the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast.

"Rainfall will continue mainly in the coastal belt before it gets diverted to the interior pockets," said a Met centre scientist.

Puri under water

Puri also reeled from a Bhubaneswar-like situation with rainwater clogging the Grand Road and several colonies in the city.

According to the local meteorological centre, Puri received 395mm of rainfall, which is the highest in the state in the past 24 hours. Bhubaneswar came a distant second with a rainfall count of 170mm.

Rain hits trains

Railway services were affected due to waterlogging and flooding at Puri Railway station yard following overnight rain. While five trains were cancelled, another 11 were partially cancelled.

Similarly, originating stations of five other trains had to be changed, while a few were rescheduled leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

"I reached the station at 10.30am to take the Neelachal Express. But only after reaching the station I learnt that the train had been rescheduled to 1.55pm. I was forced to wait for hours at the station," said Rakesh Sahoo.

A railway official said they were trying to introduce a micro-tunneling system at Khurda Road and Puri railway stations to tackle frequent waterlogging.

"Feasibility study of a micro-tunneling system has already been conducted at the Khurda Road station. The drainage system of Puri station is linked to the municipality network, which is already overloaded. We will consult with the civic body to find a solution to the problem," said a railway official.

Earlier in March, micro-tunneling system was introduced at the Bhubaneswar railway station to drain out floodwaters from platforms.

Additional reporting by Lelin Mallick

Pictures by Sarat Kumar Patra and Ashwinee Pati