Rain continues to lash Odisha

Koraput district records highest rainfall of 70.8 mm

Normal life was hit in several parts of Odisha for the second consecutive day on Thursday because of heavy rain triggered by the low pressure in the Bay of Bengal which has activated the monsoon in the state.

Rainfall-related difficulties were particularly high in south and western Odisha districts. According to a report reaching here from the southern district of Gajapati, Thursday turned out to be a nightmarish day for a group of school students appearing for the ongoing supplementary high school certificate(HSC) examinations as they failed to reach the examination centre because of the heavy rain.

They were to cross a bridge on the Bamsadhara River to reach their examination centre near Mohana which they could not because the bridge was under three to four feet of rain water and the current was very high. The worried parents have already approached the district authorities to request the Board of Secondary Education(BSE) to conduct re-examination for the students.

Meanwhile, there may not be any respite for the people from the wet and unfavourable weather as the local met office has already predicted more rainfall across the state during the next 24 hours.

“Rain and thundershower will occur at many places in the state during the next 24 hours. In some places, the rainfall will be heavy to very heavy,” a local weather office press release said on Thursday evening.

Koraput town in southern Odisha Koraput district recorded highest 70.8 mm of rainfall on Thursday. The tribal dominated district has already recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall during the last two days. State capital Bhuba­neswar which has been receiving rain at regular intervals since Wednesday recorded 22 mm of rainfall on Thursday.

Kerala gets excess rain

Kerala has received 50 per cent more than normal rainfall since the south-west monsoon hit the state’s coast on June 1. According to the meteorological centre, the state received 378.22 mm rainfall between June 1 and 13, DHNS reports from Thiruvananthapuram .

The centre puts 252.66 mm as the normal rainfall during the corresponding period. Till June 12, all districts reported excess rainfall, except Pathanamthitta, where rainfall was 18 per cent less than normal.  Kannur district tops the list with 112 per cent excess rainfall.

The meteorological centre has predicted hea­zvy to very heavy rainfall over the next couple of days in Kerala.

Heavy rainfall was reported in seven stations of the state on Thursday. Haripad in Alappuzha district recorded 13 cm rainfall, followed by Piravam in Ernakulam district (9 cm), Kudulu in Kasaragod and Chalakudy in Thrissur (8 cm) and Hosdurg in Kasaragod, Vaikom in Kottayam and Enamackel in Thrissur (7 cm).

The improved rain situation has led the state government to call off load-shedding during the day. The government plans to end load-shedding by June 15.