Heavy rainfall throws life out of gear in Srinagar

Normal life was thrown out of gear in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on Thursday, due to massive water-logging following heavy downpour in the city.

Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) pumped out the water with the help of water pumps in several areas across the city. However, the locals had to suffer due to massive water-logging which further caused major difficulties for the commuters here.

Mohammad Sidiq, a resident, told ANI, "SMC is working to pump out the water here but there is some fault with the new drainage system in the Lal Chowk area that's why the entire area is inundated whenever heavy rain lashes the city."

"It becomes very difficult for the locals here. My children couldn't go to school as the area was severely waterlogged this morning," he added.

However, according to the authorities, the situation in the city was not very severe.

"The streets here are waterlogged due to heavy rains but there is no need to panic as we are doing our job and our field staff is working to clear the water. SMC is fully geared up," said Muzzaffar, Assistant Executive Engineer from Mechanical City Drainage.

School students were stranded on their way to school this morning as the streets were severely deluged.

"It's been raining since morning and due to poor drainage system the entire area is waterlogged and I was not able to reach school this morning," a school student said.

Locals here had to struggle to make their way through the knee-deep water on the streets.

Meanwhile, major junctions in Ludhiana were deluged due to heavy downpour in the city, causing severe water-logging and traffic snarls at major junctions on Thursday morning.

Rains were so relentless in Ludhiana that it caused major swamping in the residential areas across the city.

"We have faced a huge loss due to massive water-logging. Water has entered our house causing severe problems for the locals here. Authorities do not care about our situation; they do not care to work in this direction. They are sitting safely inside their homes but the locals here are bearing the brunt," a resident told ANI.

Commuters remained stuck on the roads as traffic crawled and vehicles broke down. Due to massive waterlogging and heavy downpour, it became difficult for the two-wheeler commuters to drive.

Following heavy rains, operations at the Vadodara International Airport have been halted till 3 pm on Thursday. The operation was halted following the heavy rains in the region which has led to water-logging and garbage accumulation on the runway.

The heavy rains and water-logging also led to the Western Railway cancelling five trains and two trains were short terminated between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The Chief Minister also appealed to citizens to shift from low lying areas to safer places, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office read. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed to shift people from low lying areas to safer locations.

All schools and colleges have been ordered to remain shut on August 1.