Two persons, including an 11-month-old boy, died in Ranchi on Thursday amid heavy rain triggered by Cyclone Yaas since Wednesday night, the downpour leading to floods and disruptions in power supply.
According to the Met office, Ranchi district witnessed 151mm rain in the last 24 hours, breaking the district’s May 17, 1990 record of 72.2 mm rain.
The downpour, coupled with strong winds, uprooted trees across different locations, and snapped overhead cables causing widespread power cuts across the state capital.
On Thursday morning, the Subernarekha river, which passes through Ranchi city, was flowing above the footbridge at Namkum. Several low-lying areas reported water logging, throwing life out of gear.
In Tamar, over 40km from Ranchi, a bridge over the Tajna river connecting Bundu and Sonahatu blocks, caved in disrupting local traffic movement.
In Ranchi, the father-son duo of Shankar Ramani and Rishab, died after a portion of a wall of their asbestos-roofed house at Jagannathpur collapsed. The toddler’s mother, Barkha Ramani, was not at home when the incident occurred, according to a neighbour. “The two were asleep when a portion of the wall of the house suddenly collapsed on them leading to severe injuries. We rushed the two to RIMS but they died on the way,” said Ajay.
Overnight rains caused water-logging in many low-lying areas of the city, like Bandhgari, parts of Hindpri and areas around Tender Heart School.
“We have been awake since midnight. There is water all over our house because of water logging in the area. With no electricity, we used candles the whole night and stayed awake to safeguard our belongings,” remarked vegetable vendor Dilip Khalko of Bandhgari.
At another lane of Bandhgari, water had submerged several parked vehicles. Similar scenes were witnessed at Hindpiri, another congested locality. “Every time it rains, our area gets flooded due to the lack of a proper drainage system,” said Md Khalid.
A residential colony waterlogged at Hindpiri in Ranchi. Picture by Manob Chowdhary
RMC works round-the clock
Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) was at work round-the-clock since Wednesday night attending to complaints registered by its control room (0651-2200011/9431104429). Town commissioner Mukesh Kumar said several teams were constituted in the wake of the cyclone, focussed on clearing roads and removing trees, among others, on priority.
He said the RMC initiative to clean drains that began last week ahead of the monsoon, ensured flooding was minimal. “Our teams have been working since Wednesday. As a result, in many areas like Harmu, Kanke Road, Khelgaon, Argora and Doranda, we could deploy manpower soon after receiving a complaint.”
JBVNL claims damages worth Rs 50 lakh
The state electricity department pegged losses to the tune of Rs 50 lakh in Ranchi division due to snapping of cables and uprooting of power poles. Ranchi Circle GM of Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Prabhat Kumar Srivastava said that JBVNL teams acted promptly through the day attending to complaints that came in from areas like Ratu, Brambe, Bero, Kanke, Nagri, Tatisilwai, Angara and Silli.
“At least 60 power poles were uprooted due to the cyclone and 15 transformers got defunct in Ranchi. Work began on a war footing. In some places, power was restored within hours,” said.
Srivastava said all hospitals in the capital were unaffected. “Power supply was ensured at all hospitals,” he said in a statement.
