Patna faces severe waterlogging after heavy rain overnight

Pedestrians were seen wading through knee-deep water while two-wheeler commuters also faced difficulty in commuting on roads covered with water sheets.

Residents of low-lying areas Bihar’s capital Patna woke up to flooded streets on Friday morning after heavy rain overnight.

A flooded Hathwa Market in Patna after rains. (Santosh Kumar)

Heavy downpour measuring 142mm inundated majority of posh localities and low-lying areas, including Boring Road, Bailey Road, Kankarbagh, Rajendra Nagar, Gandhi Maidan, Digha, Kurji, Jamal Road, Nala Road, Bazar Samiti, Anandpuri, Patliputra colony, Anishabad, Jagdeo Path and Saguna More — which also led disruption of vehicular movement and closure of several prominent schools.

Pedestrians were seen wading through knee-deep water while two-wheeler commuters also faced difficulty in commuting on roads covered with water sheets.

Adding to waterlogging woes, roads have sunk at various locations, including Beer Chand Patel Path, where the Namami Gange project is underway.

Rear tyres of a four-wheeler got stuck near Beer Chand Patel, which was later evacuated with help of locals. Similar incidents were reported from Boring Road and Agam Kuan.

Officials of Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) claimed that the quick response team remained 24 hours active to clear waterlogging.

“Our quick response team is on alert mode and working extensively to clear rainwater from the capital city. Circle officers are inspecting their respective localities to assess water logging. Officials are using sucker machines and motor pumps to clear waterlogging quickly. Water level of sump houses are being monitored with help of CCTV cameras,” said a press release issued by PMC.

Prominent schools, including Carmel High School and Loyola High School, suspended offline classes owing to heavy waterlogging.

According to Patna Meteorological Centre, very heavy rain lashed Purnea, Khagaria, Katihar, Patna, Bhagalpur and Vaishali while moderate to heavy rain occurred at remaining places.

As per the daily weather bulletin, Amaur in Purnea recorded 172.6mm of rainfall, Baltara in Khagaria 147.8mm, Amdabad in Katihar 143.8mm, Patna 142mm, Pirpati in Bhagalpur 140mm, Hajipur 129.2mm, Bhagalpur 127mm.

The MeT office said widespread rain will continue in the state for the next five days.