BHUBANESWAR/CUTTACK : Heavy rain lashed Twin City Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on Tuesday as cyclonic storm Arnab moved close to Andhra coast.
Normal life was disrupted in parts of the capital city, including Rasulgarh, Pahala, Nayapalli, Jayadev Vihar and Nandankanan, due to heavy rain and thunderstorm activity. Dark clouds engulfed the city throughout the morning.
Parts of Cuttack also reportedly witnessed thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rainfall, causing brief inconvenience to residents. Met officials said around 24 mm rainfall was recorded in the capital city, while 6.8 mm rainfall was witnessed in Cuttack.
Keeping the storm’s impact in view, authorities of both Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) expedited removal of hoardings and pandal arches from different places under their jurisdictions.
Pump sets were also deployed in advance in vulnerable locations to prevent waterlogging in low-lying areas. Schools across both the cities were asked to remain prepared for use of their infrastructure as temporary shelters, in the event of any need.
Meanwhile, keeping in view the impact of the cyclonic storm on the state, the Khurda administration announced closure of all government, government-aided and private schools from 1 pm on the day till Wednesday.
The Cuttack administration also ordered closure of all educational institutions in the district, including government, non-government, aided, private schools and colleges, ITIs, polytechnics and universities, besides anganwadi centres on Wednesday.
A 24-hour control room was set up at Nandankanan Zoological Park and range-wise mock drills were conducted to step up preparations to deal with the heavy rain under the impact of the storm. Control rooms were also set up in Utkal University for necessary coordination.
