Motorists in Bhubaneswar (top) and Cuttack splash through streets flooded with rainwater on Monday after 48 hours of intermittent rain hit the twin cities. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee, Ashwini Pati and Badrika Nath Das

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 29: It was blue Monday for more than one reason in the capital after rain coupled with bad drains had commuters wading through dirty water and struggling to keep their composure.

Triggered by low pressure in the Bay of Bengal, the capital saw 38mm of rainfall between 10am and 5.30pm. The flooded streets exposed the poor drainage system that stopped water from receding despite efforts from the civic authorities.

The roads near Exhibition Ground, Utkal University, Samantarapur-Garage Square, Rajmahal and Master Canteen Square, among others, were waterlogged.

Stretches near Sriya Talkies Square, Rabindra Mandap, Jayadev Vihar Square, Bidyut Marg, Unit VIII Dav School, Regional Passport Office and Old Town were also underwater. Both sides of the catchment of the 100-feet road connecting City Women’s College and Gandamunda remained waterlogged for several hours.

While the roads near Rabindra Mandap, Exhibition Ground, Bidyut Marg were waterlogged because the flow of rain water to the nearby drains was slow, the chaotic scene on Samantarapur Road was because of the slow progress of work. The stretch from Rajmahal to Master Canteen was a veritable stream because of the ongoing road expansion project.

The catchment area on either side of the 100-ft road connecting City Women’s College and Gandamunda was so inundated that it threatened to undo the work on the road under construction.

Vehicles negotiate a flooded street at Unit IV in Bhubaneswar.

“Water traps are a must for modern road planning, but most of our city roads lack this simple structure. An iron sieve, it allows water to pass through, while pedestrians have no problem while walking over it. Without these structures, water remains on the road for nearly an hour in many parts of the city even after rain has stopped,’’ said a senior engineer.

Flooding on major roads had created traffic snarls during the early part of the monsoon, and the police had to intervene. Workers of the public works department (PWD) created channels from the road to the nearest drains, but these were not adequate for today’s rainfall.

Ananya Mohapatra, a student of BJB College, Bhubaneswar, who was stranded for over an hour during the rainfall in the afternoon, said: “Waterlogging is creating major problems in Old Town. Near Mausima Square, people riding two-wheelers are finding it very difficult to navigate potholes full of muddy water. I came to college on a two-wheeler and had to ride through a dangerous lane connecting the Square and my college.’’

“It was especially difficult for children to return from school,’’ said Gitanjali Nanda, a homemaker.

PWD executive engineer (division III) P.C. Nayak said water traps along Bidyut Marg and Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan Road had been built but it seems they were not enough. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation deputy commissioner Priyadarshi Mohapatra said this year BMC had successfully implemented de-silting secondary and tertiary drains, but the responsibility of the main roads were with other departments

“However, we are ready to deal with any eventuality and the crisis management team is ready with six pumps for low lying areas,’’ he said.