Incessant rains disrupt life in Jharkhand, waterlogging in Ranchi

Ranchi, August 3: As incessant torrential rainfall continued to lash Jharkhand for past two days, several road diversions were washed away, trees were uprooted and houses were as well, an official said on Saturday. However, no casualty was reported from any part of the state till now, a disaster management official said.

The Regional Meteorological Department on Saturday issued alert for heavy rains in many districts on Saturday.

“Light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places is very likely today and isolated extremely heavy rainfall is also very likely over Northwest Jharkhand,” Ranchi Meteorological Centre in-charge Abhishek Anand said.

The Jharkhand government has already ordered closure of all schools be on Saturday in view of the rains.

NDRF teams had been deployed in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi on Friday to rescue people from low-lying areas hit by incessant rains. But, the situation is under control there, said the disaster management department official.

Ranchi Municipal Corporation issued toll free number  to help residents report on waterlogging.

In Ranchi, several low-lying areas are submerged under rainwater. Around 40 people had been rescued on Friday evening by NDRF personnel from Bandhgari locality under Sadar police station in Ranchi city.

Gonda Dam was filled to the brim after heavy rains in Ranchi. On Saturday, 3 gates of Gonda Dam were opened. After more than 145 mm of rain in Ranchi in a day, a decision had to be taken to open the gates of Gonda Dam located at Kanke. The Meteorological Department has also issued a rain alert at many places in Jharkhand on Saturday. Drinking water is supplied to a large population of the city from Ranchi’s Kanke Dam.

Incessant torrential rainfall led to the washing away of a road diversion near Kandra village connecting Gumla and Lohardaga which affected around 15,000 people of five villages.

In Ramgarh, an alert has been sounded in the famous pilgrimage site – Rajrappa temple – by the administration due to the rise in water level in the Damodar and Bhairvi rivers.Devotees have been asked to avoid going to the exit gate along Damodar river.

In Dhanbad, several localities such as Grewal Colony near Bekarbandh, Nawadih Nandan Residency in Bhuli, Mangal Vihar Colony in Dhaiyya, Shivliwari Colony in Maithon have been submerged due to heavy rains.

On Saturday morning, a bridge over the Bokaro River in Gomia block of Bokaro district, built at a significant cost, was swept away. Tragically, a villager is reported missing.