Bhubaneswar: Incessant rain over past two days almost paralysed life in many parts of Odisha.
Heavy downpour in low-lying areas of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Sambalpur on Monday had people wading through knee-deep water. Rainwater also entered houses in these areas. Life crawled and almost stopped with schedules going haywire.
Put On Hold
Inauguration of the Gurupriya bridge over Janbai river in the cut-off area of Chitakonda block in Odisha’s Malkangiri district was postponed following heavy rain. Notably, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was scheduled to inaugurate the bridge on July 18. According to the sources, the next date of inauguration would be announced once the weather condition improves.
Waterlogged
Rainwater entered the premises of 13th century Sun Temple at Konarkl causing inconvenience to the visiting tourists. It also posed a threat to the world heritage monument. Alarnath Temple at Brahmagiri in Puri district also remained flooded on Monday following heavy rain. Devotees had a harrowing time as rainwater entered the temple premises.
The Millennium City also had to deal with the problem of waterlogging. Low-lying places like Rajabagicha, Rausa Patana, Meria Sahi, Patapol, Khatbin Sahi, Odia Bazar, Kazi Bazar, Kali Gali and Hazari Bag lane in Cuttack were flooded.
Holiday Declared
Study of the children was affected as all the schools in Cuttack were closed due to heavy rain. District Educational Officer (DEO) had ordered the school authorities in the low-lying areas to declare holiday in view of the torrential rain.
Marooned
As many as 14 persons were trapped as floodwater from Udanti river entered Chapria village under Golamunda block of Kalahandi district on Monday morning. Ten among them were working at a mega lift irrigation project site while four villagers had gone to the low-lying area with cattle for grazing when water from the river gushed in. They were stuck in the area for over six hours till firefighters and ODRAF personnel came to their rescue.
Water from Udanti river also entered Dumria, Artal, Palna and Borda villages under Bhawanipatna block. In Bhawanipatna town, 100 families were shifted to safer places by the district administration.
Stranded
Heavy rain triggered flood-like situation in Odisha’s capital also. Several passengers had to be rescued from a bus stranded on a waterlogged road in front of ISKCON temple on NH-16 in Bhubaneswar.
Washed Away
Thousands of tribals from five panchayats under Kalyansinghpur block in Rayagada were left in the lurch after a temporary bridge over Kalyani river was washed away in flash floods following heavy rain since Saturday. A bridge at Paikadakulaguda, a culvert near Hanumantpur and the approach road to Gudari bridge were also washed away.
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