Heavy rain causes wall collapse, four injured

KENDRAPARA/BERHAMPUR/BALANGIR: Four members of a family sustained injuries after a wall of their thatched house caved in at Malipur village of Pattamundai block on Monday night due to heavy rainfall for the last four days in the district. 

Hemant Mallick (34), his wife Swarnalata (30), their three-year-old son and niece aged four, were admitted to the community health centre at Pattamundai for treatment. The showers have also left several areas of the district waterlogged. 

One of the worst-affected spots is the rehabilitation colony at Bagapatia in Rajnagar block where no concrete roads have yet been laid. The colony, inhabited by 4,000 people, remains waterlogged even with little rainfall. The district administration had assured to build concrete roads in the colony five years back but nothing has yet been done in this regard, said Sahadev Rout, a resident of the colony. 

Waterlogging was also reported from Kendrapara town, Pattamundai, Rajnagar, Mahakalapada, Marsaghai and other areas. Executive officer of Kendrapara municipality, Debaprasad Bal said, “We are clearing drains in the town to prevent waterlogging. Some potholes have developed due to the rains”. 

In the seaside villages of Mahakalapada and Rajnagar blocks, extensive damage was caused to agricultural land due to breach in embankments. It is alleged that some prawn gheri owners have damaged the embankments in the blocks to allow flow of saline water into their farms. However, the authorities are yet to act against them,” rued Umesh Chandra Singh, a farmers’ leader. 

In Berhampur city, sudden showers accompanied by wind threw normal life out of gear on Tuesday. The rain that brought respite for people inundated several parts of the city. Commuters had a tough time wading through 1-2 feet water on busy streets at Bank Colony, Gajapati Nagar, Dharma Nagar, Nilachal Nagar, Basudev Nagar and Gandhi Nagar. Similarly, in Balangir, heavy rains with hail storm caused damage to vegetable crops and property. Farmers of Balangir, Titlagarh and Kantabanji suffered losses due to storm.