CUTTACK: Barring a few localities, almost all low-lying areas in the Millennium City remained severely waterlogged as heavy rains continued on Monday, September 13, 2021. The city recorded 143 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours throwing life out of gear in over 180 residential areas and markets across 59 wards of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC). The worst affected areas were Patapola, Rausa Patana, Sutahat, Meria Bazar, Friends Colony, Ganga Mandir, Odia Bazar, Balu Bazar, Kazi Bazar, Mahammadia Bazar, Kesharpur and some parts of Chauliaganj and Madhupatana located in low-lying areas.
This apart, overflowing drain water gushed into houses located in low-lying areas including Patapola, Mehendipur, Sutahat Tanti Sahi, Kazi Bazar, Nua Raousapatana, at Pithapur, Sutahat, Roxy Lane, Badambadi, Tulasipur, Deula Sahi, Kanika Chowk, Shelter Chowk, Rajabagicha and Dolamundai and Kesharpur.
“We have been awake since 3 am as water entered houses in our local)ity. We had to move all the household articles to safer places and sit on the cot to save ourselves from the knee-deep water inside our house,” said Prantashree Moharana, a resident of Sutahat New Colony.
Similar was the plight of Bhagabat Bal, a resident of Sikharpur Nadi Kula Sahi who said he and his family are unable to venture outside their house as the locality is waterlogged. “Though residents of our locality are trying to drain out the storm water from their houses manually, it is proving to be a futile exercise,” he said.
The downpour also affected health services at hospitals in the city including Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer (AHPGIC) where water entered the building. Services at the institute’s Radio Oncology department was hit on the day. While several places in SCB Medical College and Hospital campus were waterlogged, a portion of the terrace of its Surgery Outdoor ticket counter caved in on the day. Though no casualties were reported, a few computers and office accessories were damaged in the incident.
CMC officials were found struggling to clear waterlogging even as they claimed to have deployed over 220 dewatering pump sets and activated the 100 HP Khannagar pumping station to drain out storm water.
The civic body’s officials said the sluice gates at Matrubhawan, Khannagar and Jobra were opened to drain out excess water from the city. However, the process of draining out storm water was hampered as several pump sets developed snag. Clogged drains only made the matters worse for the civic body.
CMC Commissioner Ananya Das said the civic body personnel are using dewatering pump sets but are facing issues while clearing excess water from low-lying areas due to heavy inflow of storm water due to heavy rains. “Though storm water is flowing out of the affected areas, the inflow too is high,” she said, adding the situation would improve once the rains subside. Das said people stranded in waterlogged localities of the city are being given dry food.