Rain throws life out of gear in Balangir MONDAY, 09 JANUARY 2012 22:22 SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR HITS: 0

Rain throws life out of gear in Balangir
MONDAY, 09 JANUARY 2012 22:22
SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR
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Normal life was affected badly due to rain accompanied by hailstorm which hit Balangir town in the wee hours on Sunday. The high velocity wind resulted in uprooting trees, snapping of electric wires and disrupting power supply for around eight hours.
Road communication in between Balangir and Sambalpur was disrupted following uprooting of many banyan trees near Satyanarayanpada on the outskirts of the town. Traffic was restored by 12 pm in the noon, after cutting of the trees and disposal of the logs from the road by ODRAF members.
Balangir Book Fair, now underway, was badly-affected as wind tore-off the tents and water gushed into the sheds. Many books were damaged for exposure to the rain water. The fair is being organised by Zilla Lekhak Parishad and had been inaugurated by District Collector SN Dey on Saturday.
“Books worth around Rs 50 lakh had been damaged in the unexpected rain and hailstorm,” said Zilla Lekhak Parishad president Sashi Bhushan Purohit.
Alone, Bidyapuri, Cuttack, had brought books worth `16 lakh to the book fair. The rain disappointed many book lovers, including children.
“Yesterday evening I had come to this book fair along with my friends. I was expecting to purchase books today. Seeing the devastating condition of the fair, I am very sad,” said Suchi Smita, a student on Sunday. The book fair organisers had no contingency plan to meet the situation, nor was there any insurance cover for the participant stall owners. Meanwhile, agricultural office sources said the rain would be beneficial for Rabi crops like Mung, Biri and sesame (Rasi).