CUTTACK: A 45-minute spell of heavy rain left several parts of Cuttack, including the SCB Medical College and Hospital, severely waterlogged on Friday, disrupting vehicular movement and causing serious problems for the people.
The worst-hit areas include Badambadi, Raja Bagicha, Jhanjiri Mangala, Balu Bazar, Malgodown, Pilgrim Road and Matru Bhawan, where knee-deep rainwater inundated roads. Waterlogging was also reported in front of the obstetrics and gynaecology department, medicine outpatient department and Aahar Kendra on the premises of SCB Medical College and Hospital. The Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer (AHPGIC) was also inundated, causing inconvenience to patients and their attendants.
“I had gone to Balu Bazar vegetable market to buy vegetables, but after completing my shopping, I had to wait for about two-and-a-half hours for the water to recede from the road,” said Chittaranjan Mirdha, a resident of Alamchand Bazar.
Similarly, several traders who had gone to Malgodown for essential commodities, remained stranded for hours as the roads were inundated.
“Waterlogging after just 45 minutes of rainfall exposes the negligence of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and shows that the authorities have failed to take concrete measures to deal with such situations,” said residents of Badambadi.
They claimed that all branch drains in the city run along roadsides and that proper cleaning of these drains could prevent overflowing and subsequent waterlogging.
Mayor Subhash Singh, however, attributed the situation to the sudden downpour, claiming that the city received 150 mm of rainfall in just 45 minutes. “Dewatering pump sets have been pressed into service to drain out excess water from different low-lying localities in the city,” Singh said.