Heavy rains bring city to a standstill; Dug-up roads trigger traffic jams
PNS
Ranchi
Heavy rainfall on Monday brought normal life to a near standstill in Ranchi, exposing the city’s inadequate drainage system and unfinished road restoration work. Roads dug up just weeks before the monsoon for sewerage pipeline installation turned into major bottlenecks, leading to severe traffic congestion across the state capital.
As schools, colleges, government offices, private establishments and courts remained open on the first working day of the week, a large number of commuters chose four-wheelers over two-wheelers to avoid the rain. The resulting increase in traffic volume, coupled with poor road conditions, left vehicles crawling through several parts of the city.
Traffic jams were reported on almost every major arterial road, including Main Road, Circular Road, Bariatu Road, Kutchery–Ratu Road, Hinoo, Harmu Bypass, Kanke Road, Jail More–Karamtoli, Boreya Road, Sirmatoli, Kantatoli–Kokar–Booty Road, BIT More and Vikas. The Doranda–Hinoo stretch remained heavily congested for most of the day.
The situation worsened on roads where trenches dug for sewerage pipelines had been temporarily filled with stone dust. Continuous rainfall washed away the loose filling, creating potholes and muddy stretches that forced vehicles to move at a snail’s pace.
Poor drainage further compounded commuters’ woes. Waterlogging at Shaheed Chowk, Kutchery Road, Station Road, Main Road and several other low-lying areas significantly slowed traffic and exposed shortcomings in the city’s stormwater drainage infrastructure.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ranchi recorded 37 mm of rainfall during the past 24 hours. The highest rainfall in Jharkhand was recorded at Nimdih in Seraikela-Kharsawan district, which received 79.8 mm. Other areas receiving substantial rainfall included Majhgaon (67.6 mm), Runia (60.6 mm), Manoharpur (59.4 mm), Arki (51 mm), Goilkera (50.4 mm), Chaibasa (48.7 mm), Chandankiyari (42 mm), Chakradharpur (39.6 mm), Khalari (37.4 mm), East Tundi (36.2 mm), Namkum (36 mm), Kotak (35.4 mm) and Dumri (34.4 mm).
The Meteorological Centre has forecast heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds of 40–50 kmph in several districts on July 7 and 8. Lightning is also likely at isolated places. The weather department has advised people to avoid unnecessary travel during adverse weather conditions and remain indoors or in safe locations.
The persistent rainfall also brought down temperatures across the state. Ranchi recorded a maximum temperature of 28°C and a minimum of 23.1°C. Jamshedpur registered 30.2°C/26.4°C, Daltonganj 35.4°C/25.6°C, Bokaro 31.5°C/24.2°C, while Chaibasa recorded 30.4°C as the maximum and 24.6°C as the minimum temperature.
