Ceaseless Rain in Odisha Affects Normal Life

Incessant rain triggered by a well-marked low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal threw normal life out of gear in several parts of Odisha on Thursday.

The regional meteorological centre here issued red, orange and yellow warnings for the coastal and southern districts of the state till October 26.

The state government declared the closure of all schools and Anganwadi centres for two days in eight districts and asked the teachers and staff to remain present at the institutes for an emergency.

The district collectors of Cuttack, Ganjam, Gajapati, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Puri, Khordha and Jajpur declared holidays in all the schools and Anganwadi centres.

East Coast Railway (ECoR) said incessant rain and subsequent water-logging on railway tracks affected the train services too.

It said many express and passenger trains are running behind schedule while a few trains have been cancelled and rescheduled.

The signalling posts also got affected at many stations due to heavy water flow all night long.

While the Visakhapatnam-Brahmapur train has been cancelled from both directions, the Bhubaneswar- Visakhapatnam Intercity-Express will be terminated at Srikakulum which will run empty up to Visakhapatnam.

The Visakhapatnam to Bhubaneswar Intercity-Express has been cancelled, said ECoR.

However, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena said chances of a flood situation in the state are low.

"Over the last 24 hours, the distribution of rainfall has been even across the state so there is less likelihood of any flood situation in the state," said Jena.

The district collectors have been asked to remain alert to take all possible measures to meet the situation arising out of the heavy rain.

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"A mudslide has been reported from two villages of Badakalakot panchayat in Gumma block of Gajapati district in which 20 houses were destroyed, 80 villagers have been relocated and are being supplied with water and cooked food," the SRC said. (IANS)