BHUBANESWAR: Life in the capital city was brought to a standstill by a spell of heavy showers on Wednesday afternoon. Traffic came to a grinding halt and people ran for cover as the intensity of rain continued to increase. While the whole morning had remained cloudy, the rains came down at about 4 pm and then started to pound the capital. By 8.30 pm, the city recorded close to 35 mm rain, according to the weather office. While most low-lying areas faced serious waterlogging, a residential colony near Acharya Vihar was flooded with water entering houses and even sweeping away motorbikes. National Highway No.5 was inundated at several places. Vehicular movement got disrupted near the Iskcon temple due to the overflowing water. Such was the fury of the rain for the first 45 minutes that traffic police had to abandon their posts at certain points since control and management became impossible in the blinding showers. The Met department said a cyclonic circulation over Gangetic West Bengal and Bangladesh caused the heavy showers. Neighbouring Cuttack, Puri and Chandbali were also hit by the showers. Some western Orissa districts received substantial showers on the day. Jharsuguda, which has been thirsting for monsoon, recorded 23 mm rain during the day whereas Hirakud received 26 mm rainfall. The Met office predicted widespread rains over central and eastern parts of the State during the next couple of days. The entire State might receive heavy showers during the period.
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