Emergency health services hampered, govt quarters flooded after rain batters Odisha’s Sundargarh

Public and health services in the Bonai region of Sundargarh district turned to a limp following prolonged monsoon rains over the last few days.

Sources reported the ground situation from many parts of Bonai, where waterlogging disrupted operations at critical facilities, including a primary health centre and government quarters. At the Gurundia Community Health Centre (CHC), rainwater flooded hospital wards, forcing authorities to suspend regular patient services.

Waterlogged Hospital Impairs Patient Care

Continuous rainfall over the past several days led to the inundation of the Gurundia CHC, where ankle-deep water has entered wards, corridors, and outpatient areas.

According to local sources, patients and healthcare staff were forced to operate under severe constraints. While some services have continued in makeshift arrangements, access to emergency care has been heavily compromised.

Personnel from the Odisha Fire Services Department reached the health centre on Saturday and began pumping out stagnant water to restore functionality.

However, the accumulation of rainwater posed a significant sanitation and infection risk, raising concerns about the long-term resilience of rural healthcare infrastructure in monsoon-prone areas.

Government Quarters Also Affected

The heavy rains also inundated two government residential quarters located within the Gurundia block office premises. The accommodations, meant for block-level officials, were flooded after rainwater breached surrounding drains.

As of Saturday evening, occupants had begun vacating the quarters temporarily while drainage operations were underway.

Locals reported that such waterlogging has become a recurring problem during spells of prolonged rainfall, exposing inadequate stormwater infrastructure and a lack of preventive maintenance.

Meanwhile, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), widespread rainfall was reported across most districts on Saturday, and the pattern is expected to persist through Sunday.

An orange warning has been issued for Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts, with predictions of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds.

A yellow alert is in effect for 17 other districts, forecasting moderate rain, lightning, and wind speeds of up to 40 km/h.