Cuttack/Bhubaneswar: Several schools in the twin cities remained shut Monday and declared it a rainy day due to heavy rainfall since Sunday.
As per predictions of the regional meteorological centre here, a low pressure triggered heavy downpour on Rath Yatra day Saturday. Despite a brief lull through Saturday and Sunday, it got accentuated since Sunday night.
Sources said many schools across the state had to be shut down due to the inclement weather.
In Cuttack, the district administration Monday declared holiday for schools in the city due to the incessant rain as the silver city suffers from waterlogging in every rainy season.
Cuttack additional district magistrate (ADM) Raghuram Iyer said, “As it has rained heavily, the district education officer (DEO) has ordered for closure of schools in the low-lying areas in our town jurisdiction.”
Adding that the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) expected the rain to continue, Iyer stated that the civic body has already pressed into action pumps in the water-logged low-lying areas.
Claiming the situation to be under control, he said that CMC staff were alert to the situation and ready to meet any exigencies. The pumps are being jointly operated by CMC and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), he added.
“Our district administration has a standing joint team comprising an assistant Collector, CMC Engineer and several others, which makes regular visits to the areas around the city,” the ADM informed further.
Some areas, including Kazi Bazaar, Mahidas Bazaar, Robot Street, Mehendipur, Haripur, Alamchand Bazaar and Khatbin Sahi in Cuttack city were inundated with the rainwater.
However, the situation in the capital city was a bit different with some schools declaring closure for the day while many kept functioning as usual which vexed parents, sources added.
Principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya-1 Artatran Mishra said the school was declared closed for a day Monday as the rain continued. “We have also decided to keep the primary level classes closed for Tuesday too,” Mishra added.
A teacher at BJEM School G Veena said they had informed the parents about the shutdown of the school for the day. “If the rain continues Tuesday then the school will remain closed for the day,” Veena added.
Radha Mohanty, a parent whose children are in DAV public school Unit-8, said that excessive rain had made it difficult for parents like her to commute. “My daughter and son had to face difficulty in reaching school. Had the school been closed for the day, it would have been great,” she remarked.
Another parent whose children are at DAV school Rajabagicha in Cuttack, said the school authority must understand that the children may suffer from fever or cold if they travel in this rain to reach schools.
It may be worth mentioning here that the regional meteorological centre has forecast another low pressure over the Bay of Bengal July 19.
Smart City turns swimming pool
Bhubaneswar: Even after a special joint squad of Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) July 4 claimed to have solved the waterlogging problem near Iskcon temple at Nayapalli here, the situation showed no signs of improvement Monday. Meanwhile, two buses got stranded in knee-deep rainwater for around an hour in front of the Iskcon temple. Keeping the situation in view, the authorities concerned blocked the busy road connecting Indradhanu market square with CRP Square to ensure smooth vehicular movement on the stretch.
The rain had not caused much trouble on the Rath Yatra day but Monday the situation turned worse for the citizens with the particular stretch on NH-16 near the Iskcon temple waterlogged.
The waterlogging resulted in traffic jams and problems exacerbated with power cuts at various places.
That apart, several areas such as Bomikhal, Jayadev Vihar and Behera Sahi were also subjected to waterlogging.
Adding to the woes, hour-long traffic jams were witnessed at several places in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
Control room to address waterlogging
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Monday opened a dedicated control room for citizens to lodge complaints regarding waterlogging or chocked sewerage. According to BMC sources, the residents can lodge their grievances on a landline number— 0674 2430038. The decision to open the control room was taken after a large number of people residing in low-lying areas complained about waterlogging on the streets.