Ghost of waterlogging haunts Silchar residents yet again

Silchar, Apr 29: Spells of torrential rain and hailstorms on Sunday night greeted the people of Silchar, the second biggest urban sprawl in the state, with waterlogged roads and inundation across many low-lying areas on Monday morning.

The woes of waterlogging kept affecting normal life, especially in areas of Sonai Road, the National Highway leading to Silchar Medical College and Hospital, for the majority of the day as the road stretch was inundated, causing severe traffic congestion. 

Many lanes and bye lanes around those areas had adverse impacts on the residents as well. The Chittaranjan rotary in the New Silchar area gave a gloomy picture of the plight as the entire stretch of the road was faced with an artificial flood for several hours.

“It is strange to see that even brief spells of rain bring back waterlogging in Silchar now and it is a recurring issue in this area every year,” said a local shop owner at the National Highway bypass, whose shop was also affected.

Locals have raised their fingers at the sluggish approach by civic authorities to clearing the Singirkhal canal at regular intervals, which, according to them, has caused the inundation.

While a section of the people also blamed random littering of items, including plastic and other substances, onto the canal, which resulted in blockages along the canal, restricting the smooth flow of water.