Bhubaneswar: Incessant rain on Sunday threw normal life out of gear in the capital city as rainwater submerged the roads, inundated several low lying areas and entered apartments.
The vehicular movement in the city was paralysed as water flowed over roads in several areas. People were found wading through knee-deep muddy water to get essential items. Nayapalli, Bomikhal, Acharya Vihar, Jharpada and Cuttack Road were the worst affected areas.
As a normal feature in case of rain, the national highway in front of the Iskcon temple witnessed water-logging stopping the movement of small as well as heavy vehicles. People in urgent need to go out had to take a detour to go to their destinations.
Similar situation prevailed on Cuttack Road which also witnessed traffic jam. Some vehicles also got stranded on the road as the water went inside the engines.
In Shastrinagar also, the roads were submerged and the residents had to remain confined to their houses.
In Bomikhal, rainwater mixed with slush and garbage entered several houses and the people living in ground floor had to move upstairs. In a desperate move, some of them drained the water with the help of buckets and cans.
The locals blamed the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) for choked drains and waterlogging. “The municipal authorities remain complacent and do not clean the rainwater drains throughout the year. When there is a waterlogging after a slight rain, they engage motors to pump out the stagnated water. But who would clean all the filth and dirt that enter our homes,” said Pramod Behera, a resident of Nayapalli.
“Despite our requests to the BMC to solve the waterlogging around my house in dry season also, no remedial step was taken. Now we are almost marooned,” said Sanjukta Das, an IT professional staying in Bomikhal.
Dipti Sahoo, a resident of IRC Village said she was unable to drive her car to meet her relative in a hospital after she came to know about the waterlogging in front of Iskcon temple.
With Met office forecasting more rain in the city in next two days, the residents are hoping for some urgent measures by the BMC to restore normalcy.
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