Odisha floods: Balangir still under deluge

Normalcy is yet to be restored in deluge-hit Balangir town even as rainfall subsided in the region since Tuesday night.
Debris of houses that collapsed due to rain in Balangir | Express
Debris of houses that collapsed due to rain in Balangir | Express

BALANGIR: Normalcy is yet to be restored in deluge-hit Balangir town even as rainfall subsided in the region since Tuesday night.Titlagarh, Patnagarh, Kantabanji, Sindhekela, Chudapali and Loisingha have been severely affected. While many areas in Balangir town are still underwater, massive damage to infrastructure has come to fore in areas where water started receding. Houses in a majority of areas have either been damaged or collapsed.

The town received 497 mm rainfall which left the entire town flooded on Tuesday. Areas like Palace Line, Railway Station, Barpali Para, Rameswar Nagar, Gokuldham, Talpali Para, Koshal Nagar, Sudpara, Salepali, Manoharpur, Mahalaxminagar, Tikrapara, Sagar Para continue to be under knee-deep water. Many residents of these areas whose houses were damaged have taken shelter in Kalyan mandap, Durga Puja mandaps and different clubs in the town.

“We had no inkling of the deluge. Books of my children, cash and other valuables, grocery, everything in our house is now under water. There is no way we can even cook food till water recedes completely,” said Laxman Nayak, a resident of Salepali.

Another resident, Pankajini Pradhan said had she known about magnitude of the deluge, she would have stored grains, water and essential commodities for at least a week. On Wednesday, she struggled to arrange drinking water for her family. “We had to wait for several hours till some activists and Government officials provided us drinking water pouches and dry food packets,” said the mother of two.

Schools remained closed on the day and electricity was restored in some locations. Water in Khadang, Tel, Suktel and Barabhai Lanth rivers besides, Laxmijore nullah at Brahmanipara has started receding. Communication on Balangir-Patnagarh, Balangir-Titilagarh, Balangir-Sambalpur and Balangir-Sonepur roads has been restored.

Meanwhile, locals have blamed the civic body and PWD officials for the faulty drainage system that led to flooding of the town.

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