GUWAHATI, March 3 - A few minutes of shower on Tuesday evening triggered water-logging in several areas�of Guwahati, leading to traffic congestion and causing immense inconvenience to commuters.
Traffic came to a standstill at several places due to the flash flood.
People were seen rushing to safer places to cover themselves from the rain. Areas like Chandmari, Ganeshguri, Anil Nagar, Hatigaon, Sarania and Christian Basti were the worst-affected.�
The situation also raised questions on the preparedness of the district administration to face the ensuing monsoon season.
Sidananda Pathak, a resident of Chandmari, said, �This is the position of our smart city where a few minutes� rain causes havoc. The stretch from Chandmari to Chandmari Colony is covered with filthy water. The government or the department concerned should have focused more on cleaning the drains and water channels on time rather than wasting time on beautifying the footpaths.�
Biki Saikia, a resident of Hatigaon, said, �People in other places enjoy the rains. But here, rains, even if it be for a few minutes, come with miseries for commuters.�
Flash flood inundation and water-logging has been a major problem in several parts of Guwahati for many years. All the State departments concerned have been spending crores of rupees every year to mitigate the menace of water-logging in Guwahati.
The authority had also identified 57 areas of the city vulnerable to the problem. When contacted, a GMC official said, �The process of cleaning the drains has been started already. All the drains and major water channels of the city will be cleaned within this month.�
A hailstorm that accompanied the rain also caused damage to trees, hoardings and banners in some localities. However, no major damage was reported in the city.
