Jamshedpur : Heavy rains laced with thunderstorm hit the Steel City Friday evening giving the denizens much needed respite from the soaring mercury. The heavy shower that broke the month�s long dry spell stayed for about an hour and touched large part of the district.
The shower was preceded with speedy winds and uprooted trees across the city. The straight mile road connecting Sakchi to Kadma was largely hit with uprooted trees blocking the movement of the traffic.
The local Met office said that maximum temperature dipped from 43.4 degree to 41.4 degree Celsius today. Rainfall was recorded at 56 MM.
Besides, the Sonari-Kadma link road too, was affected by the heavy winds with decayed trees falling prey to storm. The Joggers Park was inundated with uprooted branches of the trees. In the low laying areas of the Kadma and Sonari rain water gushed into the houses and people had a trouble time pouring out the water.
However, for the average citizens of the Industrial town the shower has brought relief from the scorching sun. The entire Kolhan division has been reeling under heat wave for the last two weeks and Wednesday shower has indeed given them the reprieve.
Areas like Mango, Jugsalai, Baghbera, Pardih have been worst hit. Water clogging at these areas has made difficult for people to move. 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.
�If it rains, the street is flooded and after a while, it becomes slushy, posing risk to motorists,� said Satendra Kumar a resident of Naya Bazaar, Jugsalai. Often, people are forced to wade through
knee-deep water during the monsoons.
Traffic was disrupted as major main roads in the city were inundated. Commuters had a tough time wading through knee-deep water, at some places, to reach their destinations. There is also a fear of an outbreak of water-borne diseases.
�The rain is being a relief from the scorching summer heat and people do not mind at all being inconvenienced as they were prepared for such an eventuality,� said official Meteorological office.
The forecast for the next 48 hours said rain/thundershowers would occur at most places over Chottanagpur plateau region and at many places over interior Singhbhum. Moderate to rather heavy rain wouldoccur at most places over all the districts of Kolhan.
