Jabalpurians got much-needed relief on Tuesday afternoon as heavy rain lashed the city after days of intense heat and humidity. But the downpour also brought a trail of problems and inconvenience for the denizens. Dark clouds started gathering over the city around 2 pm, following strong winds for a short time, the winds turned into heavy rainfall accompanied by thunder. The rain came in spells but brought significant relief. Temperatures dropped considerably. People, who had been struggling with heat and humid conditions for days, finally felt comfortable. According to the Weather Department, the monsoon is still several days away. But Tuesday’s heavy downpour gave residents an early taste of relief. However, the relief came with a heavy cost. Heavy waterlogging was reported in many areas of the city. Several streets turned into streams. Residents had to wade through knee-deep water to reach their destinations. Four wheelers and two wheelers got stuck at many waterlogged streets.

 

Trees were uprooted at several places, blocking roads and adding to the chaos. The situation exposed the ground reality of the ongoing pre monsoon cleaning drive by the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation. Drains choked with Contd from page 1 garbage overflowed onto roads. The waterlogging made it clear that the JMC's pre-monsoon preparations were far from adequate. The rain also exposed the poor pre-monsoon preparations of the Electricity Department. Power supply was disrupted repeatedly even during moderate rainfall. Outages occurred again and again in several localities. Residents said if electricity supply failed so quickly during a pre-monsoon shower, the situation during peak monsoon could be far worse. The Weather Department has indicated the possibility of more such pre-monsoon showers in the coming days. Residents welcomed the rain but urged all concerned departments to ensure that basic civic services remain functional when the actual monsoon sets in.