Asani Jamshedpur: Temperature plummets as cyclone brings rain

Jamshedpur, May 11: The city witnessed heavy showers, rain on Wednesday afternoon and a significant drop in temperature thanks to cyclone Asani. The only negative was traffic piling up at Jugsalai near Tata Pigments. Due to water clogging traffic went haywire for hours. Traffic was slow in some other parts of the city too. For the next 24 hours, IMD has forecast thunderstorms with intermittent light to moderate rain in the city and the suburbs with sky conditions to be generally cloudy.

An official said the rain was due to the outer rainbands that moved southwards as cyclone Asani rotated as it moved northwards. “The intensity of rainfall will reduce. There may be light rain over isolated places. The system after nearing Andhra Pradesh is expected to weaken and move further north on Thursday when its distance from the city will increase. So, the cyclone’s impact may remain only for one or two days,” he said.

The weather department has forecast that selected parts of the State which are close to West Bengal will experience heavy rainfall in comparison to other parts of the state.  High alerts have been issued in Ranchi, Ramgarh, Sahibganj, Deoghar Bokaro, Dhanbad, Pakur, Jamtara, East and West Singhbhum, Kharsawa and Saraikela by regional IMD.

For the next 48 hours, IMD has forecast thunderstorms with intermittent light to moderate rain in the city and the suburbs with sky conditions to be generally cloudy. IMD said Asani is expected to weaken into a cyclonic storm. It is likely to move towards north AP and further weaken into a depression on Thursday.

According to information, areas like Mango, Jugsalai, Baghbera, Pardih have been the worst hit. Water clogging in these areas has made it difficult for people to move. The downpour exposed the woeful drainage system on the city roads. Choked drains resulted in water logging in different parts of the city. Motorists had to struggle to get through the water-logged roads.

Most of the roads are dotted with stalled vehicles, adding to the chaos. In some low lying areas several autos have been reported stranded in water.

“Rains have made life difficult for the residents but still there has not been much flooding even in the low-lying areas. We are keeping a vigil look and are prepared to face situation,” said an officer of Jugsalai Municipality