The season’s first heavy monsoon spell on Saturday night and Sunday exposed major shortcomings in Raipur’s civic infrastructure, triggering widespread waterlogging that disrupted normal life across the city. Overflowing drains inundated residential colonies, sewage entered houses and key traffic corridors were rendered impassable, residents and officials said. Adarsh Nagar, particularly Street No 8 in the Mowa area was among the worst-affected localities, where stagnant water and raw sewage brought daily life to a standstill. “Roads and open drains were indistinguishable; we had to wade through kneedeep water,” a resident of Adarsh Nagar said. In several parts of the city, floodwater rose rapidly, forcing commuters to move cautiously. Raipur Railway Station was also hit. Water poured through the roof of Platform No 1, drenching passengers taking shelter under the shed and disrupting movement on the platform. Videos of the leaking roof and the flooded platform circulated widely on social media, showing travellers covering luggage and seeking alternative shelter. Several residential areas reported inundation. Kneedeep water entered homes in DD Nagar Zone-5, while houses in Shankar Nagar, Tatibandh and the EWS BBlock of Indraprastha Colony Phase-2 were also flooded. In Chaubey Colony, overflow from five nearby ponds breached residential areas, causing significant hardship. Water logged Anupam Garden GRoad and several other thoroughfares across the city.

 

The impact extended to VIP areas, where drains outside Mayor Meenal Choubey’s official residence overflowed. Residents said waterlogging persisted in multiple wards, affecting both lowlying settlements and upscale neighbourhoods. Traffic was severely disrupted after underpasses at Fafadih and Gudhiyari were submerged. A truck remained stranded in the flooded Fafadih underpass from about 5 am, forcing motorists travelling between central Raipur and the Bilaspur Highway to undertake lengthy diversions. Residents alleged that despite annual assurances of monsoon preparedness and substantial spending on drainage improvement works, the city’s drainage system failed during the first major downpour. They claimed that several drains originally measuring seven to eight feet in width have narrowed to four to five feet due to encroachments, and said inadequate desilting and poor maintenance have reduced drainage capacity, leading to recurring flooding during heavy rain. A cyclist’s bicycle was reportedly swept away in an overflowing drain during the night after being caught in the strong current. No injuries were reported, but residents warned the situation could cause serious accidents if corrective measures are not taken immediately. Residents demanded immediate removal of encroachments along drains, comprehensive desilting of the drainage network and longterm solutions to prevent recurring monsoon waterlogging.