Incessant rains that lashed Puri for the last couple of days made life difficult, particularly of daily wage earners, as most parts of the pilgrim city were inundated and all the construction works were stopped and essential services like healthcare were seriously affected.
The low-lying areas and the slums were over-flooded. Since there is little provision for drainage, the rainwater entered into houses in several areas.
The Grand Road (Badadanda) at the District Headquarters Hospital square remained inaccessible most of the time as it came under knee-deep water. The situation at the Reserve Police line was the worst as the entire area was inundated by drain water.
The rainwater also flooded the VIP Road, the arterial road of the city linking the hospital campus, the District Judge Court and the Sub-Collector office.
The poor and half-constructed drain lines were the main cause of the problem. Despite tall claims by the authorities about construction of a drainage system, it proved otherwise with a vast section of the population suffering miserably.
