Hatigaon's never-ending struggle: waterlogging, garbage & civic neglect

Guwahati, Dec 6: Like many localities of Guwahati city, waterlogging in Hatigaon following a short spell of shower has become a new normal.

Once full of paddy fields, this area is a testament to how haphazard and unplanned urbanisation has turned Guwahati into a 'hell' in recent times. It is also one of the areas where some roads remain inundated in the dry season too.

And it is not just the issue of artificial floods; residents of the area are also reeling under acute scarcity of potable water. Poor garbage management system is another civic issue the area adjacent to Dispur is grappling with.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, Nurul Haque, a resident of the area, said that the destruction of a natural water channel and faulty drainage are two of the main reasons behind the perennial artificial flood problem.

"Earlier, there was a natural water channel known as Hati Nodi. In the 1990s, the state government diverted it through an artificial channel in Bhetapara, and thereafter massive encroachment started on the stretch of the natural channel. As a result, Hatigaon lost a natural channel to flush out the excess water, and after rapid urbanisation, waterlogging has become a perennial problem," Haque said. According to Haque, the Hati Nodi started from Basistha and went through Gosaibari, Bhetapara, Hatigaon, Jatia, Notboma, and Saukuchi and finally connected with the Deepor Beel. Earlier, it was 30-35 feet wide, but after massive encroachment, the breadth of the channel has been reduced to 6-8 feet.

"In order to mitigate the artificial flood problem of Hatigaon, the breadth of Hati Nodi needs to be widened by at least 20 feet, along with proper dredging of the river bed. Similarly, the drainage of the area needs rectification," he said.

Further, Haque said that scarcity of potable water is a serious issue in the area, where people rely on private water suppliers most of the time throughout the year.

"Groundwater depletion in Hatigaon started in 2010. Earlier, groundwater was available at a depth of 30 feet. Now, it needs at least 500 feet of deep boring to extract groundwater. As deep boring is a costly affair and no government water supply scheme is available here, most of the households purchase water from private suppliers. Similarly, garbage management, which is also erratic, is also a serious civic issue for us," he added.

Talking about civic issues, another resident, Ajijur Rahman Saikia, said that the destruction of another natural water channel near the Sijubari area through encroachment is also a reason behind the artificial flood problem of Hatigaon.

"At present, there are two ways available to divert the excess water of Hatigaon—one is the Basistha diversion channel, and the other is Hati Nodi, which is now popularly known as Lakhimijan. The authorities must take proper steps to correct the grading of drainage so that excess water flows to the two channels," Saikia said.

According to him, the waterlogging problem started taking a worse turn in the last 10 years. This year, many new areas of Hatigaon were waterlogged. "Elevating the roads is not a solution to the waterlogging problem. The government must chalk out a proper plan to rectify the faults of drainage. Until then, the problem will not be solved," he said.

Pointing to the garbage management problem, Hatigaon, Notboma, Sijubari Nagarik Samiti secretary Jahid Ahmed said that the GMC needs to put an adequate number of dustbins in every locality of Hatigaon and regularly collect the waste.

On the waterlogging problem, he said, "The government must conduct extensive desiltation and grading of the drainage system. Earlier, we found a huge volume of construction materials dumped in the drains by the contractors engaged by the government," Ahmed said.

By-

Manash Pratim Dutta