Schools closed for two days in parts of Odisha amidst downpour; record rainfall in Puri, Bhubaneswar

The Odisha government has shut down schools in 12 districts for two days as rain continued to pound the state for the third day on Monday due to a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal.

School and Mass Education Minister Samir Dash said the 12 districts where schools would remain closed till Tuesday are Khordha, Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Kandhamal Angul Jajpur and Boudh districts.

Schools had reopened for classes 9, 10 and 12 following an improvement in the COVID-19 situation. Heavy rain since Saturday clobbered large parts of the state as a depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a deep depression and crossed the coast near Chandbali in Bhadrak district.

The India Meteorological Department office has issued alerts for 13 districts. Bhubaneswar received 195 mm rainfall over the past 24 hours till 8:30 am, breaking a 63-year-old record, while Puri also broke its 87-year-old record with 341 mm of rain during the period.

The Department of Water Resources said it reviewed the flood situation and preparedness, as well status of river gauge and discharge in the low-lying areas of the state. It cancelled holidays and leaves of all employees and asked them to remain present at office.

The civic bodies at Cuttack and Bhubaneswar have engaged around 400 pumps to drain out water from the low-lying areas of the twin cities. In Cuttack, dry fruits were distributed among people whose houses have been inundated, civic officials said.