Bhubaneswar: Heavy to very heavy rain triggered by a low-pressure threw life out of gear in several parts of Odisha amid traffic disruptions due to submergence of key roads and bridges with floodwaters.
According to information, severe waterlogging and traffic disruption was witnessed in districts, including Boudh, Dhenkanal and Anugola after incessant rain affected road connectivity.
Flooded roads and submerged bridges left commuters stranded and affected the movement of vehicles in several areas.
Sources said nearly two feet of water was flowing over the Tunimund
a bridge in Boudh district’s Kantamal area. As a result, road link between Palsagora and Baulsingha was completely disrupted.
Local residents had demanded the construction of a high-level bridge over the stream multiple times in the past. They had also reportedly cited recurring disruptions that occur during the monsoon season.
In Dhenkanal and Anugola districts, traffic on NH-55 was severely disrupted after stretches of the highway were inundated due to torrential rains.
Vehicular movement, which came to a standstill due to flooding, resumed after the rainwater receded. Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the highway for nearly eight hours, causing hardship to commuters and truck drivers.
More than 200 mm of rainfall was recorded in parts of Anugola and Dhenkanal districts overnight, inundating several low-lying stretches of NH-55, particularly in Motanga police station area.
Sources said rainwater inundated several stretches of the highway at Chintapokhari, Haldiabahal, Kharakprasad, BRG chowk and Meramandali.
On the Anugola side of NH-55, a 200-metre stretch near Badakera chowk was also submerged, where a bus was stranded after attempting to negotiate the waterlogged road.