Lucknow wakes up to flooded localities, power outages

Reports of severe water accumulation came from Ramnagar, Labor Colony, Nandakheda, Amba Palace, Rajajipuram, Om Nagar, Pawanpuri, Barha Shanti Nagar, Chhuiyapurwa, Jankipuram, and Mahanagar behind Fatima Hospital

The 15-hour downpour has led to severe waterlogging in many areas of the state capital. Some areas even remained under even one foot of water.

HT Image

At the flooded Mawaiya Overbridge, traffic towards Cantt had to be diverted through a different route.

Over 100 locations across the city were affected. Reports of severe water accumulation came from Ramnagar, Labor Colony, Nandakheda, Amba Palace, Rajajipuram, Om Nagar, Pawanpuri, Barha Shanti Nagar, Chhuiyapurwa, Jankipuram, and Mahanagar behind Fatima Hospital.

The other affected areas included Shiv Lok Colony-Khadra, Jeevan Plaza, Vijay Khand, Vipul Khand, Vibhuti Khand, near Janata Girls Inter College, Pawanpuri Pulia Omnagar, Harnapur Square, Pakri Pul, Mayakheda, Almas City, Kanshiram Colony, Jalalpur Talab, Kanchana Bihari Marg, Bahadurpur, Mayapuri Colony, Kamla Market, Keshav Vihar, and Kanhaiyanagar.

What officials say

Divisional commissioner Roshan Jacob has directed Lucknow Municipal Corporation to ensure that pumps are installed in all the low-lying areas of the city.

Municipal commissioner Inderjit Singh said, “I have directed all zonal officers to remain in field. While waterlogging was reported from many areas, but the water has been drained out from almost all the areas. The LMC is prepared for the rains. We have water pumps for low-lying areas. All our pumps are in working condition.”

Power disruption in over 60 areas

In addition to waterlogging, the continuous rain has severely disrupted the city’s power supply. More than 60 areas experienced intermittent power cuts throughout the night. Calls to the customer care toll-free number 1912 went unanswered. Substation staff worked through the night to address the faults, but the task proved challenging due to the incessant rain.

The most significant electricity issues were reported in Gomti Nagar, Indira Nagar, Chinhat and Gomtinagar Extension. An explosion at the GSI sub-station panel on Sitapur Road further exacerbated the situation, plunging large areas, including Jankipuram and its surroundings, into darkness.

The KB Marg feeder at the Indira Nagar Sector-25 substation broke down, affecting areas such as RK Puram and Jagrani Dhal.

Substations flooded

Waterlogging at key substations further complicated the power restoration efforts. The Rajajipuram New Substation and the FCI yard were inundated, affecting over one lakh residents. Areas connected to Dubagga, Malihabad, Rahimnagar, and Kanpur Road also faced power outages until 2 am. Although power supply was restored in the morning, engineers noted that continuous rain made fault repairs exceedingly difficult. Tasks that would typically take 30 minutes were stretching to over two hours.

The power department’s chief engineer Ravi Kumar Agarwal said, “Our staff is working very hard to restore power supply wherever cuts are reported. Despite the rain, we are trying to attend to every complaint at the earliest.”

‘Lucknow turns into Venice’

The Samajwadi Party’s media cell criticised the state government over the post-rain issues in the state capital. The party’s X handle posted a video of a waterlogged stretch in Gomti Nagar and wrote: “Yogi ji has turned Lucknow into Venice. Vehicles are getting stuck due to waterlogging, the engines of vehicles are getting damaged, lives and property are being lost. All this is a result of corruption in drain and sewer cleaning...”