Odisha: Naveen Patnaik govt faces public backlash after one-hour rain inundates Bhubaneswar roads

The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government in Odisha faced public backlash on Saturday after a brief spell of rain brought the capital to a standstill.

Heavy rains paralysed daily movements as roads were flooded for hours with bringing traffic to a grinding halt at various places in Bhubaneswar. Within an hour, waterlogging turned the National Highway 16 in front of ISKON temple into a pond. Numerous vehicles were submerged in waist-deep rain waters in front of the temple and thousands of commuters were stranded due to water logging at various places in the city.

Miffed by the traffic jam and waterlogging caused by the rains, people slammed the Odisha government for the lack of preparedness during the monsoon season. Several residents questioned and mocked the smart city project.

"This is the situation in #SmartCity #Bhubaneswar today after a downpour. Shocking but not surprising. This is unfortunately the situation in many of our cities, the infra is crumbling, the planning is bad, and rampant encroachments are worse. But who’s bothered...," a Bhubaneswar based businessman tweeted.

Several others took to Twitter and shared images and videos of submerged vehicles on NH 16.