Flash flood-like downpour in Nagpur on the wee hours of Saturday caused flooding everywhere in city. In just 4 hours, Nagpur city witnessed 106 mm rainfall that put citizens in peril as all lakes and rivers of the city overflowed and gushed into residential areas mercilessly. Citizens woke up to flooded houses and streets after the rains, which started at 2 am on Saturday and lasted till 7 am in the morning, disrupting normal life as water entered in houses, shopping malls, cinema halls, shops, medical stores, hospitals etc. The main public places like Nagpur Railway Station, Ajni Railway Station, Mor Bhavan Bus Stand, Metro Stations etc. also submerged into flood water. The railway tracks of Nagpur and Ajni stations went into the water, which caused disruption in movement of trains on all routes for some time. Similarly, the city buses parked in Mor Bhavan and many other places drowned into the flood water which affected the public transport system of the city Saturday morning onwards. As the rain continued in the morning, vehicular movement was affected in every corner of the city. The Traffic Department diverted traffic to adjacent roads to avoid any incident and traffic jams. Despite this, heavy traffic jam was witnessed by the citizens while going to their offices and work places. Normally, city witnesses water logging during monsoon in low lying areas but this time, the water entered in most of the areas of West and South West Nagpur on Saturday due to overflowing of all water bodies there.

 

Ambazari Lake is already struggling due to flooding of Eichhornia weed that is choking the water body. On Saturday, the heavy rainfall caused overflow of Ambazari Lake and the overflowing water wrecked havoc in West Nagpur. The Ambazari Lake water entered in residential areas which caused property loss in form of furniture, cars, generators, two wheelers etc. Similarly, Naag River did the same damage in most parts of city where it crosses through. Due to overflowing of Naag river, areas like Variety Square, Shankar Nagar, Panchasheel Square, Jhansi Rani Square etc. submerged under water and all shops, restaurants, offices, hospitals etc. also witnessed water logging on Saturday. The Ganesh Puja pandals in the city also got affected due to heavy rains and water logging. Pohra river in South West Nagpur and Pilli river in North Nagpur also overflowed at many places due to which the low-lying areas were flooded and residents suffered a lot due to water logging in their houses. All four gates of Gorewada Dam on Gorewada Lake were opened as the water level of the lake crossed the danger mark of 315.65 mtr in the evening. The gates of Gorewada Dam, also known as Godbole gates, starts opening automatically as water level crosses the danger mark. Due to opening of gates of Gorewada, the adjacent areas of Gorewada also witnessed flooding. India Meteorological Department (IMD), on Saturday, issued yellow alert for September 24 to 27 in all over Vidarbha including Nagpur. On Saturday, Nagpur city witnessed this type of flood for the first time in decades.

 

 

Welcome Society, Borgaon, Hazari Pahad, Nandanvan, Sakkardara, Ambazari layout, Sitabuldi, Daga Layout, Dharampeth, Shankar Nagar, Patrakar Bhavan, Mahesh Nagar, Kalamna, Kasturba Layout, Rajarao Society, Palloti Nagar, Zingabai Takli, along with other areas of the city got affected due to flood in the water bodies of the city on Saturday. While interacting with The Hitavada, Sanjay Waghmare, a resident of near HB Town, Sonegaon said, “We never imagined such situation could ever persist. It was like a nightmare for us that washed away our home. Now we are helpless and expecting compensation from the administration.” Janabai Pofare, a 67-year-old resident of Ambazari layout said, “We lost everything in this deluge. Our house turned into a swimming pool and every thing is floating. We cannot switch on the electricity as it will increase threat to our life.” In this festival season, the heavy rains affected idol immersion as water-logging in Visarjan site of Futala Lake restricted the activity on Saturday. The civic body, along with Green Vigil Foundation, made some temporary arrangement for idol immersion in the evening.