Rainfall ‘red alert’ becomes a subject of mockery
| Date :08-Sep-2019 |
Citizens risk their lives while commuting on the road full of craters, especially at Munje Chowk. (R) A worker mooping floor of Subhash Nagar Metro Station as water leaked from its roof after heavy rains on Friday.
Staff Reporter :
THE rainfall ‘Red Alert’ for the city on Saturday issued by Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Nagpur, proved to be a case of much ado about nothing. As it did not rain at all in the city till late evening, the alert became a subject of mockery among citizens. Following 77.8 mm rainfall in the city on Friday resulting in waterlogging in several parts of the city, RMC-Nagpur had initially issued ‘orange alert’ for Saturday.
Later, it raised the advisory to the level of ‘red alert’ predicting ‘extremely very heavy’ rainfall on Saturday. Subsequent to the issuance of this ‘red alert’, the district administration reported the matter to State Protocol Office, which then conveyed the same to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s important tour to the city was scheduled on Saturday. Following the RMC alert, PMO informed the State Protocol Office that Prime Minister’s tour stood cancelled. The district administration rightly took the alert in utmost seriousness and declared a day’s holiday to all schools and colleges in the city on Saturday. The alert created panic among citizens, as the message in this regard spread like a wildfire through WhatsApp.
However, the alert proved to be a hoax as the city did not receive rainfall till late evening on Saturday. In fact, the rainfall received till 11.00 pm on Saturday was just negligible. Though the city skies remained dominated by dark clouds, rain kept the residents waiting. Since Saturday morning, people started being extra cautious considering RMC’s alert. However, as the day progressed, the ‘red alert’ became a subject of mockery. Even at social gatherings including the ‘prasad’ of Mahalaxmi, people were heard talking about it. A few eminent persons made telephone calls to ‘The Hitavada’ expressing their displeasure over RMC’s ‘hoax’ alert.
For, it resulted in cancellation of Prime Minister’s visit to the city after a long gap. “If the meteorological department authorities are not sure about their forecasts, why make the same in the first place to the extent of creating panic among citizens,” said an eminent person, wishing to be unnamed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to inaugurate not only the ‘Aqua Line’ of Nagpur Metro Rail project from Subhash Nagar to Sitabuldi Inter-change, but also nation-wide launch of pension scheme for small traders and shop-keepers, inaugurate out-patient department of All India Institute of Medical Sciences etc. “Such important projects could not be launched, thanks to rainfall ‘red alert’ that did not come true at all,” he said. Meanwhile, talking of Subhash Nagar Metro Station, the personnel there were busy cleaning up the premises as water leaked from the roof of the structure.
This was the station from where Prime Minister was scheduled to embark on inaugural journey of ‘Aqua Line’. Apart from RMC’s ‘red alert’ and leaking roof at Subhash Nagar Metro Station, problems with the road network also are suspected to have contributed to the cancellation of Prime Minister’s visit to the city. To reach Subhash Nagar on Hingna Road, Prime Minister’s convoy would have taken to Ring Road from Chhatrapati Square. Throughout this stretch of Ring Road from Chhatrapati Square to Hingna T-Point, there are at least four points where there was waterlogging following heavy rainfall on Friday. These points included the stretch at a close distance from Chhatrapati Square, near Padole Square, Trimurti Nagar Square, and Mangalmurti Square. Further, the road below the Metro Rail’s overhead track near Ambazari (opposite what was once Krazy Castle) are in such a bad shape that no two-wheeler rider or four-wheeler driver can feel safe negotiating numerous potholes and loose metal. Prime Minister was scheduled finish his Nagpur Metro journey at Sitabuldi Inter-change.
At Sitabuldi Inter-change Station also, people faced inconvenience on Friday due to waterlogging. ‘The Hitavada’ had the photographs of this entire road stretch taken well in advance before the Prime Minister’s scheduled visit. However, it refrained from publishing the same. For, it did not want to spoil the significance of Prime Minister’s visit to the city. Again, from Sitabuldi Inter-change to Divisional Sports Complex at Mankapur, the road stretch was not in a smooth condition. In fact, on Friday, water had gushed into a part of Divisional Sports Complex too.
So, there is a reason to suspect that the poor maintenance of city roads and utter neglect of the authorities concerned towards the persisting problem of waterlogging even on cement roads, might have contributed to cancellation of Prime Minister’s visit, apart from RMC’s rainfall ‘red alert’. The other reasons are suspicion, but the concrete reason quoted in the press release issued by PMO on Friday late evening for cancelling the Prime Minister’s visit to Nagpur on Saturday was: “As IMD has declared ‘Red Alert’ of extremely heavy rainfall warning in Nagpur & Vidarbha region, the proposed visit of Honourable Prime Minister to Nagpur tomorrow (September 7, 2019) has been postponed.” This ‘red alert’ will be remembered for a long time by Nagpurians, for, it proved to be a ‘hoax’, depriving Nagpur of the opportunity of the Prime Minister’s all-important visit.