Bhubaneswar: The state capital witnessed intermittent showers from Monday midnight under the influence of severe cyclonic storm Montha, which made landfall in Kakinada on the coast of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday evening.
As a precautionary measure, schools and colleges had been shut and Nandankanan Zoo authorities also decided to keep its door closed for visitors on Wednesday. Similipal Tiger Reserve also decided to remain closed for tourists on Wednesday with IMD predicting rain.
Since educational institutes were closed, school buses were off the road, leading to thin traffic. Roadside eateries, anticipating sluggish business, also stayed shut while the footfall in public transport — city buses and auto rickshaws — was down considerably.
While the rainfall didn’t trigger waterlogging, it kept the sky overcast. It rained throughout the city in several spells. “Since the spells didn’t last for more than 30 minutes, water didn’t collect even at vulnerable points,” BMC additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo said.
Eight high-duty pumps from the fire services department, though, have been kept ready to drain stagnant water in case of incessant rain on Wednesday. “The engineering wing is ready to rush with logistics to places where roads have to be dug up to direct stagnant water,” Sahoo added.
BMC officials said they may not need to create cooking facilities at shelters as the situation is likely to remain manageable.
BMC has decided to suspend animal birth control (ABC) programme for three days, beginning Wednesday. “Our multi-agency control room is fully functional, and an additional commissioner (emergency) and additional commissioner (grievance) are overseeing it,” said a BMC officer.
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