Jharsuguda, Odisha : Heavy rainfall led to a major traffic disruption on Saturday afternoon after a decades-old banyan tree was uprooted and fell across the road at Dapaka village under Kolabira block of Jharsuguda district. The incident occurred around 2 PM, blocking the road that connects Paramanpur to Vedanta plant via Dapaka and Katikela.
Local commuters, including Vedanta employees traveling for duty, villagers of Dapaka and Paramankapur, and school students, faced severe inconvenience as movement came to a complete standstill.
On receiving information from villagers, the Kolabira Fire Service team rushed to the spot and attempted to clear the road but failed due to the massive size of the tree. Later, the district administration decided to seek help from the ODRAF (Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force).
Following the instructions of the district administration, an ODRAF team from Jharsuguda reached the site around 8:30 PM to begin the cutting and clearance work. Meanwhile, Kolabira BDO was directed to ensure proper electricity arrangements during the operation.
By the time of filing this report, the road clearance operation had just begun, and vehicular traffic remained completely blocked till 9 PM. However, authorities assured that traffic movement would likely return to normal by midnight.
