BHUBANESWAR: The Iskcon temple road in the capital city was yet again faced with waterlogging on Sunday evening following a heavy spell of rain, which disrupted traffic and hampered devotees’ darshan of the Trinity’s Suna Besha for a brief period.
Incessant rain that pounded the city in the evening led to flooding of the temple road along National Highway (NH)-16 for at least 15 to 20 minutes. The incident led to traffic disruption on the stretch for a short period.
An official from the temple said the waterlogging also affected Suna Besha darshan of Lord Jagannath and His Siblings atop the chariots near the temple for some time. “A number of people had to wait for the water level to recede to reach near the chariots. The rain also hampered the Lords’ darshan for a brief period,” he said.
After the storm water was cleared, people were seen thronging near the temple in large numbers to have a glimpse of the deities in golden attires. “It is disheartening that every year we face the same issue. The waterlogging even prompted some of the devotees to return without darshan. This isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s sheer negligence,” rued one of the devotees, while seeking intervention of BMC and NHAI in resolving the issue at the earliest.
City engineer Bilash Kumar Behera, however, said there was no major waterlogging on the stretch this time. “The stormwater that flooded the area after heavy rain, was discharged automatically within 10 minutes,” he added.
Behera said, while a drainage project has been approved for the stretch recently, BMC is coordinating with the NHAI authorities and has also deployed temporary pumps apart from removing the trash filters and ensuring timely desiltation of the existing drainage system for quick discharge of stormwater that accumulate at the site.