A waterlogged Jhola Sahi stretch in Cuttack on Monday. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Oct. 21: City life was hit hard following two hours of heavy rain here this afternoon.

Overflowing drains left several localities waterlogged to compound the miseries of the residents.

Moreover, the regional meteorology centre has forecast heavy rain under the impact of the low pressure that is likely to hit Odisha coast by October 23. This has unleashed fear among the residents of low-lying areas.

The residents of Sutahat, Patapole, Ranihat, Sikharpur, Pithapur and other areas faced problems due to waterlogging till late in the evening.

“Once again the rain has exposed the Cuttack Municipal Corporation’s failure to put a check on repeated waterlogging,” said Sutahat resident Sanjay Mohanty.

Mohanty said the civic body had failed to ensure fast discharge of rainwater as most of the drains remained choked and no step had been taken for silt removal.

A number of commuters also faced problems due to accumulation of rainwater on prominent streets, including at Ranihat, Bajrakabati and Mission Road areas.

Earlier, the civic body had drawn flak for not taking timely measures to flush out accumulated water from several localities following Phailin.

Though motor pumps were installed at several low-lying areas, they had failed to ensure fast disposal of wastewater. The fresh spell of rain today is likely to aggravate situation in many areas.

“Our locality was submerged under knee-deep water during the heavy rain that lashed the city on October 12. Despite several complaints, the civic body took no steps to drain out the water at Bidanasi,” said local resident Kishore Das.

Civic body officials, on the other hand, claimed that immediate steps were taken to ensure that there was no obstruction in the drainage channels following the heavy rain today. A senior official, however, claimed success in clearing waterlogged localities within two hours.