Rain cripples life in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Heavy rains crippled normal life in several parts of Odisha Thursday as the low pressure over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression. The depression may trigger heavy downpour till Friday, officials said.

As heavy rain pounded several parts of the state since Tuesday, low-lying areas including Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Khurda were inundated, they said. As several areas are marooned in Cuttack city, the administration declared closure of all educational institutions Thursday.

Life came to a standstill in the port town of Paradip which recorded a maximum rainfall of 412 mm rain since Wednesday, they said, adding water logging in several areas of the port disrupted loading and unloading of consignments. 

A large number of vehicles were seen submerged in water as all low-lying areas in Paradip faced deluge. Areas around the famous Sun Temple in Konark are under knee-deep water, while many places in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri faced severe water logging, they said.

Wednesday’s low pressure concentrated into a depression and lay centred over the north west Bay of Bengal and areas, about 25 km east of Digha in West Bengal, said Director of Bhubaneswar Regional Meteorological Centre H R Biswas. The system is likely to move to north-west and then weaken gradually during the next 24 hours, he said.

Under its impact, rain and thundershower is likely to occur in most places in Odisha, while heavy to very heavy rainfall and extremely heavy rainfall may lash northern, southern and interior regions, he said in a bulletin.

Squally wind with a speed of 40-50 kmph and up to 60 kmph is likely to sweep areas along and off Odisha and West Bengal coasts in the next 24 hours, while sea condition would be rough to very rough, it said. In view of adverse weather, the MeT office advised fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off Odisha coast till Friday.

Meanwhile, as many as 44 blocks in the state have recorded more than 100 mm rainfall with Erasama block in Jagatsinghpur district receiving a highest of 435 mm, an official said, adding the port town of Paradip recorded 412 mm of rainfall.

As Cuttack city was severely affected with two-feet high rain water flowing over the busy Badambadi road, Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) pressed into service around 150 high-powered pumps in several areas to drain out water.

In the state capital, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) deployed over a dozen teams to take stock of the situation in 67 wards and asked 40 engineers to stay on high alert to deal with any eventuality, a BMC official said.

The BMC also opened a 24-hour control room and a special operation centre. The situation is completely under control despite incessant rain in several parts of the state, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said.

The state recorded an average rainfall of 55 mm during the past 24 hours, he said. Six blocks received more than 300 mm rainfall, while the volume of rainfall was more than 100 mm in 46 blocks of the state.

While there is no fear of flood at this juncture, a close watch is being maintained on the water level of rivers like Mahanadi, Brahmani and Baitarani, he said. While water level in all major rivers in the state stood much below the danger levels, that of the Baitarani river is close to the danger mark of 17.83 metre at Akhuapada, but there is no cause for worry, said an official.

The SRC, who had on Tuesday asked collectors of 26 of the 30 districts in the state to remain alert in view of heavy rainfall, said they were told to keep administrative machinery in full preparedness to meet any eventuality and ensure functioning of control room round the clock. Most parts of the state have already been battered by widespread rainfall for over a month owing to the formation of a series of low pressure in the region.