Rain pours misery on Bhubaneswar, Cuttack

Bhubaneswar: At least two persons were injured on Monday after part of a boundary wall of AIIMS Bhubaneswar collapsed due to very heavy rainfall. The injured were treated at the hospital, a spokesperson of the health facility said. Several areas of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack got waterlogged during the day as heavy rain lashed the coastal region of Odisha due to a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal.

Normal life in the twin cities was thrown out of gear since Monday afternoon with several spells of heavy rainfall accompanied by lightning and thunder. People were seen wading through knee-deep water, while vehicular movement was severely affected for hours, leading to congestion on several roads in the twin cities.

According to the Meteorological centre here, Bhubaneswar received 186 mm of rainfall during a span of two hours on Monday afternoon. The situation in Cuttack was worse as rainwater entered houses in Bidanasi, Tulasipur and other areas. India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that the intensity of rainfall in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack would increase in the next 24 hours.

Rain and drain water entered the houses of people living in several localities in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar on Monday. Residents of the twin cities expressed their resentment over waterlogging and delay in the clearance of accumulated water. The downpour was due to the influence of a well-marked low-pressure area over the north Bay of Bengal.