BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar woke up to a deluge on Sunday after pounding rains opened the floodgates of woes for the denizens. Flooded residential areas, overflowing roads and damaged drainage systems exposed everything that has gone horribly wrong with what is billed as Smart in the Capital City. Janpath, running through City’s heart and a model of Smart City endeavours, was the showpiece of sorts.
Near Gurudwara, the stretch which has seen new road and drainage designs was overtopped by storm water unable to be evacuated. Shopping establishments were flooded. Even government quarters of prominent persons were flooded.
Under influence of a low pressure, the city reported 119.1 mm rainfall between 830 am and 5.30 pm on the day and it was beginning of the trouble for the denizens. Many residential localities and commercial establishments were inundated. Reports of drain water breaching embankments poured in many areas of the city. People living on the ground floor of a house in Gayatri Nagar were forced to shift to first floor of the building after the nearby drain’s water flooded the locality.
“We have been requesting Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to construct boundary wall on the drain in Bomikhal since a very long time but to no avail. Even if the city experiences heavy rainfall for a short period, the drain water inundates the roads in Gayatri Nagar, Nigamananda Nagar, and other nearby areas,” said a local resident.
There were complaints on social media sites that phone calls to emergency numbers of BMC were transferred to other numbers and there was none to respond at the end.People living in Soubhaygya Nagar, Bhimatangi lane number- 6, Gouri Garden, Mahaveer Nagar, Barik Sahi in Old Town, Charulata Enclave in Patia, Bomikhal, New Forest Colony, Jayadev Vihar, Satya Nagar Postal Colony, GGP Colony and Naharkanta had similar tales to tell.
Parapet wall of a culvert collapsed and fell on the retaining wall of the drain in Gayatri Nagar and damaged it. Similarly, retaining wall of a drain in Bairagi Nagar also collapsed due to the rains. Khandagiri police had to make an announcement to evacuate the three-storey house of one Siba Prasad Nayak at Dumduma in Raghunath Nagar after a side of a building reportedly caved in due to the heavy rains.
The Gosaswar area in Old Town was left completely inundated. The road was so overtopped by storm water that a truck got stuck. Drain water also entered into Gosaswar temple and the school in the locality, said a local. Cars parked on the lanes were inundated.
Near Iskcon Temple, BMC officials had to deploy police to prevent travellers from approaching the stretch which gets inundated.“Breaches in drain embankments in the city have been reported. However, the flooding problem issue did not last for long in front of Iskcon temple as work is continuing there and the staff were also deployed to take necessary action immediately,” said Municipal Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Sanjay Kumar Singh said.
Capital rains
Sunday’s 119.1 mm rainfall is the second highest in the last decade On September 25, 2019, Bhubaneswar had recorded 126 mm rains Several residential areas and commercial establishments were left inundated
BMC and Odisha Fire Service teams equipped with pumps were engaged in over 30 locations for de watering the inundated areas