The incessant rain for the last 24 hours in this month of October has changed the weather conditions. Though the intensity of the rain was not very high, it has, definitely, paralysed normal life badly. It was the second consecutive day when due to continuous rains, not only the normal life was affected badly but it also caused frequent disruption in power supply. Most of the markets, internationally famous 88-odd Ganga ghats and other places wore a deserted look , though generally the city witnesses frequent traffic jams.
However, as the intensity of the rain was not high it rarely caused big water-logging in even low-lying areas but at several places, it damaged the roads as well as water-logging was seen due to choked sewer and drainage lines, exposing the tall claims of the Nagar Nigam. Even in the surrounding areas of Nagar Nigam building such road side water-logging was seen and as construction work was going on at nearby Sampurnanand Sports Stadium, the road condition there was in a pathetic shape.
According to the Middle Ganga Division-III of Centre Water Commission (CWC), during the last 24 hours till 8 am on Tuesday, Varanasi received 47.4 mm rains, while in comparison to the city, there was heavy rain in Jaunpur which received 66.8 mm rain. Besides, there was 35.8 mm rain in Ghazipur and 50 mm in Chunar in Mirzapur district in nearby areas of this belt of Purvanchal (eastern UP). Though the rain has increased the misery of the residents of the city areas, it has brought happiness on the faces of farmers, especially paddy growers of adjoining districts known as ‘Rice Bowl’.
Besides, the rain disrupted the power supply in many areas frequently as the repair of faults in continuous rains was not easy. The rain also affected some flight services as per the report from Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Babatpur as AI-406 from Delhi , AI-695 and QP-1418 both from Mumbai were delayed and UK-621 from Mumbai also arrived late. Rain also affected train and road transportation as due to slippery conditions at some places, it has slowed down the speed of four-wheelers. Though as the Pitra Paksh is going on and during this period the city has witnessed heavy rush of people to pay pind-daans and offer rituals for the peace of the souls of their forefathers, the ghats wore a deserted look. However, the rush was as usual at mythological Pichas Mochan pond where the people offer pind-daan of those family members who met unnatural or untimely deaths. Besides, the rain and changes in weather conditions have increased the possibilities of mosquito menace as the cases of viral fever, dengue etc have increased alarmingly in the city.