Students missed school and office-goers waded through waterlogged streets to workstations on Tuesday after a spell of heavy rain.
The downpour started around 9am and continued uninterrupted for at least two-and-a-half hours. Some pockets in the city turned into a lake after the 33.4mm rainfall.
Several prime localities and roads in the city centre were completely under water. The usual half-hour travel went into hours, spoiling the mood of the residents.
Gopal Prasad, a senior telecom executive, said: "It usually takes 30 minutes for me to reach my office near Gandhi Maidan from Gai Ghat where I live. But today (Tuesday) it took me more than two-and-a-half hours to reach the office as there was a massive snarl on the stretch because of waterlogging."
M.D. Sikandar, a resident of Sabzibagh, said most of the residents in his area were confined to their homes and commercial establishments remained closed for most part of the day. Very few found it fit to wade through the knee- or thigh-high water on the arterial roads.
"Like every year, our locality turned into hell because of the downpour. We complained to the civic authorities several times earlier. But instead of doing something, they explain to us how the drainage system in the area is faulty. Just temporary arrangements are made to drain out excess water from the locality," he said.
Well, Sabzibagh residents alone did not suffer. Rajendra Nagar, Kankerbagh, Kadamkuan, Khaitan Market, Jakkanpur, Sri Krishna Nagar, Patliputra Colony, Gardanibagh, Mandiri and Rajeev Nagar residents also witnessed waterlogging on Tuesday.
Residents blamed Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC)'s for their ordeal.
Archana Kumari, a resident of Jakkanpur, said: "The attitude of the government and the civic authorities towards rain-related problems in the city has been disappointing. There is absolutely no planning to solve the problem once and for all."
Pawan Kumar of Ashiana Nagar said: "Monsoon brings welcome relief from the heat and mundane weather. But in Patna, it creates total chaos. PMC has been a total failure in managing the situation."
Ravindra Verma, the in-charge PMC chief engineer, said: "It is true that flooding has been reported from several pockets but the water is being cleared with the help of pumps within hours. Over 100 pumping stations are working to flush out the excess water from roads and colonies. We have kept about 180 litres diesel in reserve for the smooth functioning of the pumps. Engineers have been deputed at the pumping stations with cellphones and mobile teams have been constituted to react to any distress call."