JAMSHEDPUR: The Nor’wester accompanied by heavy rainfall which lashed the Steel City at 55-60 km on Sunday at around 5.30pm brought relief from the scorching heat but left a trail of destruction. Over 70 trees were uprooted and power lines were snapped, leading to outages.
The thunderstorm killed daily wager Dharamvir Kumar (45) at Loyola School area under Bistupur police station. Kumar was the sole bread earner of his family, consisting of wife and three sons.
Sonari resident Manabendra Mukherjee said his wife Radha, who is bed-ridden for over five years after suffering a brain stroke, faced discomfort due to the non-functional AC during the power cut. Electricity was restored after two-and-half hour.
Disrupted internet services till Monday afternoon posed problems for many. IT professional Mrinmoy Banerjee, who is working with a firm in Australia, said his work suffered and hoped that he does not face such ordeal again.
Banker Rohit Singh of CH area said he could not purchase medicines for his mother as the roads were blocked by the uprooted trees.
The 25mm rainfall led to a collapse of the drainage system. Vendors have put up stalls on the drains at Sakchi, blocking the free passage of water leading to inundation. An octogenarian of Kadma area and former employee of Tata Steel, Mohan Das, complained that unplanned construction by private builders and rampant encroachments in market areas have made water-logging a regular feature.
Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services Limited official Sukanya Das told TOI on Monday that cranes and JCB machines were pressed into action throughout the night to clear the roads, she added.
Sources said a section of the boundary wall of the Sonari aerodrome collapsed during the storm. But no one was injured, they added.
