After enduring a week of scorching heat and high humidity despite the Monsoon season, residents of Agartala finally got respite on Friday evening as incessant rain lashed the city for over half an hour. However, the heavy downpour brought widespread waterlogging across the state capital, disrupting normal life and exposing the city's poor drainage infrastructure.
Several low-lying localities in Agartala were partially or completely submerged as rainwater accumulated on roads, severely affecting traffic movement. Major roads witnessed waterlogging, leading to traffic congestion in several parts of the city and causing inconvenience to commuters.
The rain, accompanied by lightning and moderate winds, intensified on Friday evening, inundating several residential and commercial areas. Although monsoon showers have been occurring intermittently across Tripura since the beginning of July, Friday's downpour had a significant impact on normal life in the state capital.
Residents alleged that the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) failed to ensure adequate preparedness by deploying sufficient pumps to drain out rainwater promptly. The delay in water clearance, coupled with the city's inadequate sewerage system, resulted in severe traffic snarls across Agartala. However, as the evening progressed, floodwaters gradually began receding after AMC activated pumping stations at full capacity.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Meteorological Centre, Agartala, has forecast widespread rainfall and thunderstorms across Tripura over the coming days, with heavy rainfall likely in North Tripura and Dhalai districts during the next 48 hours.
According to the IMD's weather bulletin issued at 7:30 pm on Friday, light to moderate rain or thundershowers are expected at many places across all districts of the state from July 3 to July 9. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are also likely at isolated places during the first five days of the forecast period.
The IMD has issued a heavy rainfall warning (7-11 cm) for isolated areas of North Tripura and Dhalai districts during July 3-4 and July 4-5.
The weather office further stated that both maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to remain 2°C to 4°C above normal over the next three to four days.
The IMD has advised residents to remain indoors during thunderstorms, avoid taking shelter under trees, unplug electrical appliances during lightning, stay away from water bodies, and postpone farming activities during severe weather. It also warned that heavy rainfall could lead to localized flooding in low-lying areas, temporary road closures, landslides, and disruptions to power and communication services.