Rain floods several areas in Cuttack's CDA for hours
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Bhubaneswar: A spell of rain on Wednesday left several areas in Cuttack's CDA submerged, disrupting life. Areas starting from Rotary Eye Hospital to sectors 6, 7 and 9 remained under knee-deep water for hours.
Sector 6 was among the worst affected, with water entering several houses and many vehicles getting stranded. Residents struggled to move out even hours after the rain had stopped.
"People were wading through flooded lanes, with schoolchildren and office-goers facing major inconvenience," said Jyoti Mohanty, a resident of Sector 6.
Krushna Prasad Jena, a septuagenarian navigating a flooded street, said, "We have lived here for decades but never seen such a precarious situation.
The condition is only getting worse."
Stagnant water not only flowed over roads but also entered residential areas, damaging property and raising concerns over vector-borne diseases.
Residents blamed the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) for failure to maintain and upgrade the drainage network.
"This has become a yearly nightmare. The drains are never cleaned on time, and we pay the price during monsoon. The entire area is submerged.
Its unfortunate to witness such a situation," said Priyanka Das, a resident of Sector 7.
Subrat Behera, a resident of Sector 9, said, "What sort of planned area is this if we can't even step out of our homes without fear of waterlogging?"
Cuttack mayor Subhash Singh told TOI, "Unprecedented rainfall in a short time caused the waterlogging. Our teams have been on the ground since morning. We're working to identify and address key choke points in the drainage system."
In another development, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Wednesday said there will be no compromise on the 'zero casualty' approach during natural disasters
After chairing the state-level Natural Disaster Committee meeting, Majhi highlighted the state's vulnerability to natural calamities, particularly during the southwest monsoon from June to Oct. "While we cannot prevent natural disasters, we can certainly minimise their impact through effective management," he said.
State govt announced plans to irrigate 1.5 million hectares of farmland over the next five years to combat potential drought conditions. The CM also directed the water resources department to maintain vigilant monitoring of vulnerable river embankments and effective water flow management.
Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari announced the installation of three Doppler radars in Sambalpur, Balasore and Bhubaneswar to enhance weather monitoring capabilities.
The state has also constructed 909 multipurpose cyclone/flood shelters across 25 disaster-prone districts.
To address health concerns during the monsoon season, the CM stressed the importance of maintaining adequate medicine and antivenom stocks in health centres, along with ensuring clean drinking water through proper tube well maintenance.
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