Bhubaneswar: The Capital city of Odisha went underwater following the first major burst of torrential rains during the current monsoon Monday, throwing normal life completely out of gear and bringing untold miseries to citizens.
As per reports, one person died after coming under an uprooted tree at Chadrasekharpur. The deceased was identified as Tutu Maharana. The tree reportedly gave way when Maharana was seeking refuge under it to save himself from the rains. Police said he was a native of Ganjam district and lived in the Shikharchandi area of the City. In another incident, a boundary wall collapsed at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, injuring three. The injured include two administrative officers at AIIMS while the third person is a shop-owner. An ambulance got stranded in front of RCM due to heavy traffic jams while many houses were inundated in low-lying areas.
IMD Bhubaneswar recorded 258 mm of rainfall till 8:30 pm Monday. Commuters, office goers, schoolchildren, and average citizens had a harrowing time after they were stranded or had to wade their way through waist-deep waters in the City’s arterial roads to reach their destinations as vehicles faced breakdowns, causing instant traffic snarls.
In many places, bikes, and auto-rickshaws were seen submerged in pools of water that spoke volumes about civic apathy, corruption, and mindless urbanisation in the name of development. Denizens, peeved at the sorry state of affairs, took to micro-blogging platforms to air their concern. Some said blocking natural waterways and handing over to builders/promoters for paltry personal benefit by BDA/BMC has to be blamed for the unprecedented flooding of the state Capital. Flooding was acute in places like ISKCON, Nayapalli, Acharya Vihar, Bomikhal, Laxmi Sagar and Old Town as poor drainage, aggravated by road digging and repair works, caused water logging.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an Orange warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two places in 10 districts of Odisha during the next four days due to the prevalent monsoon trough and a low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal. An orange alert has been issued for Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Kendrapara, Angul, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Jajpur, and Bhadrak for August 1 and 2.
These regions are likely to receive 70 mm to 200 mm of rain during the period. IMD Bhubaneswar has forecast heavy rainfall and thunderstorm in Bhubaneswar and requested all to stay indoors during lightning and thunderstorms. BMC was also informed to call 1929 for any assistance.