Heavy Rain Wreaks Havoc In Coastal Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Normal life came to a standstill in the coastal areas of Odisha following heavy rain under the influence of a low-pressure over the north-west Bay of Bengal.

Following heavy rain, all schools and colleges in Cuttack were closed for a day.

Besides, all sceduled examinations of the Utkal University have been cancelled. The university authorities will announce the rescheduling of the examination later. Besides, the Khurda district administration has announced the closure of all schools due to heavy rain and the 12-hour transport strike by the All Odisha Auto-Taxi Federation.

All low-lying areas in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Puri have been flooded with the rainwater. People in these areas have been waterlogged as the rainwater entered their houses and damaged the household articles.

In Cuttack, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) authorities have engaged 190 high-powered water pumps to flush out the stagnated water.

Areas like Badambadi, Roxy Lane, Raja Bagicha, Meria Bazaar, Kesharpur, Patapola, Jhola Sahi and Kazi Bazaar have been waterlogged disrupting vehicular traffic. The rainwater has entered almost all houses and trading establishments in these localities.

In Bhubaneswar, rainwater has entered the houses in the low-lying areas of Rasulgarh, Palasuni, Bomikhal, Acharya Vihar, Jayadev Vihar, Sailashree Vihar, Power House Chhak, Gouri Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Paika Nagar, CRP Square and Nayapalli, Dumduma, Shanti Nagar and Old Bhubaneswar. Rainwater was flowing at 2-3 feet on the roads in these areas, reports said.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities have used high-powered pumps to evacuate rainwater from these low-lying areas in the city.

In view of the situation, the BMC authorities have opened a helpline with toll-free number 18003450061 to receive information from the city denizens. Besides, the authorities have also provided them with the telephone number of the emergency control room 0674-2432281 to report any untoward incident in their area.

Life was thrown out gear in Puri which received a record 305 mm rainfall since Monday afternoon. The Bada Danda (Grand Road) have been flooded and people could be seen wading through waist-deep water. Besides, Station Road, Matitota, Marine Drive and areas behind the Gundicha temple are waterlogged.

Till reports last came in, the Fire brigade personnel were evacuating rainwater from the Record Room of the District Treasury Office.