With no relief from rain for last 48 hours and more shower predicted for next few days, authorities in Patna ordered the closing of all schools for next three days as city streets submerged into rainwater making it nearly impossible for children to commute without getting soaked or dirty.
The schools are now scheduled to resume on July 18 though that might change depending on the weather condition, officials in Patna said.
Meanwhile, rainwater entered into many homes in Kankarbagh and other low-lying areas forcing people to move to higher floors. The district administration's feeble attempt to drain water by using small pumps were proving to be unsuccessful as the defunct, antiquated underground drainage, instead of sucking rainwater in, were spurting dirty water back on the streets.
District Magistrate Jitendra Kumar Sinha said efforts were being made to rid Patna from the water accumulation by ensuring all sump stations were working at full capacity and dozens of pumps were deployed in all affected areas to restore normalcy in the state capital.
Meteorological officials are predicting constant rain for next two days that are only expected to make the situation worse while making the district officials' job to clean the city extremely difficult.
Source: Patnadaily.com 17/July/2008
