Cars wade through a waterlogged street at Forest Park in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.

The city received 17mm rainfall within 20 minutes, (between 2.05pm and 2.25pm). The downpour was enough to flood arterial roads in the city.

Forest Park and a portion of Janpath near the fruit market at Sriya Square were the worst hit.

While the road from Sishu Bhavan Square up to Hotel Forest Park got flooded as the drains overflowed, commuters had a tough time even after the rain stopped.

Vehicles going from the Master Canteen Square end towards Ram Mandir had a harrowing time wading through the waterlogged streets.

The situation became worse near the main road at Forest Park as a major under-construction roadside drain had overflowed.

Director of the Indian Meteorology Centre, Bhubaneswar, Sarat Chandra Sahoo said: "The rainfall was normal and it was due to monsoon clouds. It was not a cloudburst-like situation.''

Bhubaneswar mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said: "We have carried out two rounds of drain cleaning this year. If there are still some blockages somewhere, we will take extra care of them."

Text by Bibhuti Barik, Picture by Ashwinee Pati