GUWAHATI, Sept 13 � It seems there is no respite for the citizens living in areas like Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, Lachit Nagar, etc., where many byelanes continue to be under water even after days of inundation.
For most people who are enduring the prolonged waterlogging, the situation has been nothing short of a nightmare, with their day-to-day lives being thrown completely haywire.
�Our lives have literally come to a standstill, as we have been compelled to stay inside our inundated homes for days. The more fortunate ones who have alternative accommodations outside have left their houses,� an aggrieved resident said.
With communication rendered a very tough proposition on the waterlogged roads and lanes, rickshaw-pullers were having a field day charging as high as Rs 100 for crossing a distance of hundred metres. People were also seen using boats during the last few days.
Resenting the administration�s apathy, another resident said that little was done to pump out the water so that normal life could resume. �The administration should at least provide us with sufficient boats during the deluge. Rickshaws are charging exorbitant amounts for plying on the inundated roads,� he said.
Among the worst-affected have been the children, the elderly and the sick. Students have been forced to remain absent from schools for days together.
While local residents rued of governmental and administrative apathy for the deteriorating situation, the authorities maintained that the flowing of the Brahmaputra above the level of the Bharalu had compelled closure of the sluice gate, preventing discharge of the choked Bharalu into the Brahmaputra.
The Brahmaputra was found to be flowing at 49.93 metres in the city today � 25 cms higher than the danger level of 49.68 metres. Yesterday it was flowing at 49.86 metres.
�The situation has been compounded by the rising water level of the Brahmaputra which is flowing above the danger mark in the city. Since the city�s storm-water gets discharged into the Brahmaputra through the Bharalu channel and the Brahmaputra is now flowing above the Bharalu, the sluice gate had to be kept shut down to prevent backflow by the Brahmaputra,� Prateek Hajela, Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metro), said.
Hajela said that pumps were being used to drain out water from the inundated areas, and the situation had improved since yesterday. �We are also deploying floating excavators to dredge and clean the Bharalu. Once the water level subsides a little, the excavators would start working again,� he added.
The citizens, however, will be little assuaged by the words of the authorities for whom a single burst of heavy shower is enough to disrupt their daily lives. �Over the years, hundreds of crores have been spent for ridding the problem of waterlogging. But the end result so far has been a big zero, with the menace of artificial floods worsening than before. A complete overhaul of the drainage, besides strict protection to the wetlands and hills is the need of the hour,� a resident said.
Another disquieting aspect of the city�s waterlogging of late has been that new and new areas are experiencing the artificial floods. Many areas where waterlogging was unheard of till a couple of years back are now regularly bearing the brunt of the menace in the event of a single burst of shower. This shows that the authorities have totally failed to ensure a planned, scientific expansion of the city.
�We did not face any waterlogging till a couple of years back, but it is a regular phenomenon now. This is because residential areas are expanding in a most haphazard manner with basic amenities like drainage conspicuous by their absence or being totally inadequate,� a resident of a byelane of Panjabari area said.
GUWAHATI, Sept 13 � It seems there is no respite for the citizens living in areas like Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, Lachit Nagar, etc., where many byelanes continue to be under water even after days of inundation.
For most people who are enduring the prolonged waterlogging, the situation has been nothing short of a nightmare, with their day-to-day lives being thrown completely haywire.
�Our lives have literally come to a standstill, as we have been compelled to stay inside our inundated homes for days. The more fortunate ones who have alternative accommodations outside have left their houses,� an aggrieved resident said.
With communication rendered a very tough proposition on the waterlogged roads and lanes, rickshaw-pullers were having a field day charging as high as Rs 100 for crossing a distance of hundred metres. People were also seen using boats during the last few days.
Resenting the administration�s apathy, another resident said that little was done to pump out the water so that normal life could resume. �The administration should at least provide us with sufficient boats during the deluge. Rickshaws are charging exorbitant amounts for plying on the inundated roads,� he said.
Among the worst-affected have been the children, the elderly and the sick. Students have been forced to remain absent from schools for days together.
While local residents rued of governmental and administrative apathy for the deteriorating situation, the authorities maintained that the flowing of the Brahmaputra above the level of the Bharalu had compelled closure of the sluice gate, preventing discharge of the choked Bharalu into the Brahmaputra.
The Brahmaputra was found to be flowing at 49.93 metres in the city today � 25 cms higher than the danger level of 49.68 metres. Yesterday it was flowing at 49.86 metres.
�The situation has been compounded by the rising water level of the Brahmaputra which is flowing above the danger mark in the city. Since the city�s storm-water gets discharged into the Brahmaputra through the Bharalu channel and the Brahmaputra is now flowing above the Bharalu, the sluice gate had to be kept shut down to prevent backflow by the Brahmaputra,� Prateek Hajela, Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metro), said.
Hajela said that pumps were being used to drain out water from the inundated areas, and the situation had improved since yesterday. �We are also deploying floating excavators to dredge and clean the Bharalu. Once the water level subsides a little, the excavators would start working again,� he added.
The citizens, however, will be little assuaged by the words of the authorities for whom a single burst of heavy shower is enough to disrupt their daily lives. �Over the years, hundreds of crores have been spent for ridding the problem of waterlogging. But the end result so far has been a big zero, with the menace of artificial floods worsening than before. A complete overhaul of the drainage, besides strict protection to the wetlands and hills is the need of the hour,� a resident said.
Another disquieting aspect of the city�s waterlogging of late has been that new and new areas are experiencing the artificial floods. Many areas where waterlogging was unheard of till a couple of years back are now regularly bearing the brunt of the menace in the event of a single burst of shower. This shows that the authorities have totally failed to ensure a planned, scientific expansion of the city.
�We did not face any waterlogging till a couple of years back, but it is a regular phenomenon now. This is because residential areas are expanding in a most haphazard manner with basic amenities like drainage conspicuous by their absence or being totally inadequate,� a resident of a byelane of Panjabari area said.
