BHUBANESWAR: Rain and wind lashed Bhubaneswar as tropical cyclone Amphan went past Odisha coast on Wednesday but in absence of any damage, the sense of relief was palpable. IMD statistics suggested that Bhubaneswar received 107 mm rainfall in 36 hours while wind speed reaching up to 45-50 kmph was recorded in the City in the wee hours of the day.
Low lying areas in the City faced waterlogging as stormwater drains remained clogged due to delay in desiltation work. Moreover, adequate number of pump sets were not used to drain out water from major roads and areas vulnerable to waterlogging.
Though the City has 37 locations vulnerable to waterlogging, pump sets were installed at 26 places.
Though the authorities concerned are aware that Bomikhal-Rasulgarh stretch on Cuttack-Puri Road faces waterlogging even after a normal spell, no measures were taken to clear water from the road, leaving it flooded for hours. Similarly, the storm led to waterlogging in parts of Jagannath Nagar and Gouri Garden area in Old Town.
“As the pump set installed by BMC was not enough to drain out excess water, portion of an under-construction drain culvert was removed to prevent waterlogging in Gouri Garden,” said Prasant Bhusan, a local. BMC officials, however, said the preventive measure taken by them helped in preventing waterlogging at many places.
Pump sets were stationed at critical points in Nayapalli Behera Sahi, Laxmisagar, Satabdi Nagar, Paika Nagar and many other places. Six emergency response teams, two each for three zones, were also kept on alert and asked to monitor the situation, said BMC officials.
BMC Deputy Commissioner Subhendu Sahu said the teams visited different locations to review the situation and no damage was reported in the city.
However, people in several parts of the City, including Rasulgarh, Jharpada and Taknapani, expressed displeasure over frequent power outage since Tuesday night. The power supply was restored by Wednesday evening.