RAIN WOES ‘Smart City’ feels the jitters in 58 mm downpour

 

 

 

Non-Stop rains for the swcond day running, on Tuesday, caught many citizens off guard while the intensity increased in the late afternoon. Nagpur city and district have been deficient in rainfall this season but the constant rains from last more than 46 hours have helped overcome the rainfall deficit. Uprooting of trees was also reported at many places on Tuesday which caused traffic jams and interruption in power supply in the city. The staff from the fire and emergency department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) were busy throughout the day due to constant calls of uprooting of trees, water logging in different parts of the city. Similarly, staff from MSEDCL were also on constant calls to attend to various power supply issues. The side-effects of development reached the doorsteps of citizens in city, giving them a first-hand taste of marooned life in aftermath of first heavy rainfall of the season. Apart from the identified spots, even the areas that were so far aloof from water-logging faced the stark reality of faulty execution of projects in city, a fact administration has been denying all along. Due to formation of low pressure area over Bay of Bengal induced incessant rains and in 12 hours, city recorded 58.2 mm downpour. As usual, all the underpasses, including the new one at Somalwada Railway Crossing, were water-logged leaving citizens stranded.

 

 

 

The one at Somalwada was supposed to have highest capacity water pump installed to drain out water and ensure an all weather railway under bridge (RuB), but it too could not withstand the intense rains, leaving question marks in minds of citizens. Since railway line divides the city, the underpasses are crucial for criss-cross movement and when rendered unusable, the commuters were left high and dry. Be it Manish Nagar, Narendra Nagar, and other similar spots in city, for citizens, it was game of decoding which route to undertake where one would not find water logging. Since Sunday, the city has been battered by rains and hence the drainage network could not withstand the pressure and overflow, leaving roads waterlogged. One could find interesting situations in Narendra Nagar, Manish Nagar, and other adjoining areas where water could be seen gushing out from drains.

 

The Rudra T-point junction on Rameshwari-Manish Nagar T-point stretch was waterlogged as water flow from opposite UCO Bank remained stagnated as the drain was choked. Due to the development, the by-lanes on Rudra T-point heading towards Somalwada underpass was out of service putting citizens in trouble. At many places, the road connectivity remained cut off leaving commuters in a tizzy. The homes that were inundated due to little room for rain water to drain were clueless. The main bus route from Narendra Nagar to Manish Nagar was cut off as knee-deep water blocked the road. The adjoining houses with low plinth were flooded. Contd from page 1 The rains started on a moderate note from Sunday afternoon but picked up speed in the night. Till 8 am, the city recorded 69.07 mm of rains. The situation in rural parts of the district was not much different as heavy rains wrecked havoc on normal life. Bhivapur recorded highest rainfall, 118.6 mm followed by 100.3 mm in Mauda, 107 mm at Ramtek tehsil, 100.3 mm at Katol and so on.

 

The non-stop rains caught many citizens off guard while the intensity increased in the late afternoon. Nagpur city and district have been deficient in rainfall this season but the constant rains from last more than 46 hours has helped overcome the rainfall deficit. Many city roads including Shankar Nagar Square, Bajaj Nagar Square, Medical Square, Ayodhya Nagar, Automotive Square, Padole Square etc were water-logged, showcasing the true reality of execution of development works in the city. The concretisation of roads, ongoing storm water drain work, power cable laying works, and water pipeline laying works everywhere in the city caused water-logging in every corner of Nagpur. Uprooting of trees was also reported at many places on Tuesday which caused traffic jams and interruption in power supply in the city.

 

The staff from the Fire and Emergency Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) was busy throughout the day due to constant calls of uprooting of trees, water-logging in different parts of the city. Similarly, staff from MSEDCL was also on constant calls to attend to various power supply issues. Due to uprooting of a huge tree, the 11 KV power line got damaged in Hill Top area near Ram Nagar Square. A huge tree was uprooted in Telecom Nagar which was removed by the Fire Department and eased the traffic movement. Uprooting of trees was also reported from Medical Square area, Cotton Market, Ganjipeth, Ganesh Nagar, and many other places. Water-logging issues also made a mark everywhere in Vidarbha due to the rains on Tuesday. On Tuesday, from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, Brahmapuri witnessed the highest 108 mm rainfall followed by Gondia (61 mm), Nagpur (58 mm), Bhandara (35 mm), Gadchiroli (23 mm), Yavatmal (18 mm), Wardha (15 mm), Chandrapur (13 mm), Amravati (9 mm), Akola (2 mm), Washim (2 mm) and Buldhana (1 mm). Similarly, in the last 36 hours, Brahmapuri received very heavy rainfall with 316.6 mm, highest all over Vidarbha. Nagpur (127.7 mm), Gondia (118.8 mm), Bhandara (100 mm), Gadchiroli (67.2 mm), Amravati (58.8 mm), Wardha (48.6 mm), Yavatmal (40.4 mm), Chandrapur (32 mm), Buldhana (26.1 mm), Akola (14.7 mm), and Washim (12.8 mm) also received heavy to very heavy rainfall in last 36 hours. The heavy rains from the last 46 hours helped three out of 11 districts of Vidarbha to overcome the rain deficit of this season.

 

Till Monday, Amravati, Nagpur, Bhandara and Wardha districts were in rain deficit but in just 24 hours, Nagpur, Bhandara and Wardha received good amounts of rain that changed the rain status from deficit to normal. Whereas, Amravati still has a rain deficit with -20% below normal. Gadchiroli received the highest 47% above normal rainfall so far which is also the highest in all over Vidarbha. Chandrapur (28%), Gondia (27%), Buldhana (25%), Bhandara (18%), Yavatmal (6%), Washim (4%), Nagpur (0%), Akola (-2%), and Wardha (-13%) also received normal rains till date. The heavy rain wreaked havoc all over Nagpur district as it received 77.9 mm rainfall with thunderstorm and lightning on Tuesday. Bhiwapur taluka received the highest 118.6 mm rainfall. Ramtek (107 mm) and Mauda (100.3 mm) received the monsoon rains in three digits whereas Nagpur city (67.8 mm), Nagpur rural (64.7 mm), Kamptee (88.8 mm), Hingna (57.5 mm), Parseoni (99.9 mm), Katol (43.8 mm), Narkhed (53.6 mm), Saoner (65.2 mm), Kalmeshwar (68.7 mm), Umred (80.8 mm) and Kuhi (98.2 mm) also received very heavy rains in last 24 hours. Due to heavy rains, six households were damaged in Nagpur district including one household in Saoner taluka, one in Mauda and four in Ramtek taluka.