Severe rainfall disrupts Durga Puja preparations and traffic in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack

Bhubaneswar: Life came to a grinding halt in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on Friday as incessant rainfall led to widespread traffic snarls and disrupted Durga Puja preparations.With the festive season around the corner, the downpour added to the woes of citizens and puja organisers alike. Both cities witnessed massive congestion on key arteries due to rain.Several key roads, including NH-16, Janpath, Sachivalaya Marg, Bidyut Marg, Jaydev Vihar-Nandankanan Road, Jagamara Road, Ring Road and Link Road, experienced massive congestion as vehicles crawled through waterlogged stretches.The situation was particularly grim on the Cuttack-Puri Road in Bhubaneswar, where partial waterlogging on a stretch between Rasulgarh and Bomikhal brought traffic to a near standstill.Traffic cops struggled to manage the chaos, with long queues of vehicles stretching across major intersections. Commuters faced harrowing experiences, with even short distances taking unusually long to cover.“It rained like anything. It took me almost an hour to reach the railway station from Ram Mandir, which is barely 1 km away. It was absolute chaos on the roads,” said Amartya Jena, a resident of Unit III.Relentless rain also hampered the final stages of pandal construction. Organisers, who were giving finishing touches to elaborate structures, were seen scrambling to protect decorations from the downpour.At Bomikhal, where eco-friendly materials like bamboo were used, volunteers rushed to cover the structures to prevent damage. “For the peacock palace design of our pandal, we used bamboo which is not waterproof. We had to struggle to cover them during the rain,” said Sujan Jena, president of the Bomikhal Durga Puja Committee.Citizens have urged the authorities to take steps to manage traffic and drainage issues, especially with the festive rush expected to intensify further. Many fear that if the current situation persists, it could severely impact both celebrations and life.“We have been struggling with the dilapidated roads caused due to the rain. Thankfully, the repair work is almost over. Now we are encountering a fresh issue of traffic jams,” Vikrant Mohapatra, a resident of Ashok Nagar, said.Traffic police have issued a diversion plan for traffic in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, which will come into effect from Saturday and will remain in place till Oct 2. It bars the entry of heavy vehicles into the twin cities from2 pm to 2 amand stresses the use of service lanes of NH-16 for the light motor vehicles to avoid congestion.