DIBRUGARH, Sept 10 � Artificial flood in the entire municipality area here caused by incessant rains has made human dwelling almost impossible. The rainwaters have kept residents here confined to their homes.
With hundreds of houses and commercial establishements, several important link roads, lanes and even a stretch of the NH-37 within the municipality have been submerged. The city has virtually turned into a cluster of tiny islands. The ground floor rooms of several houses in the neighborhood settlements are flooded.
The municipal drains have neither managed to contain the rainwater nor the domestic watery wastes. The drain water has only spilled over to the roads and lanes, thereby causing total havoc in the city.
The perennial artificial flood contaminated with the fluid spilling out of the municipal drains is seen gushing into the streets and living rooms of almost every family.
Artificial flood is in its worst form in Graham Bazar, Dibrujan, Durgabari, Sankardev Colony, Jeuti Nagar, Naliapool, Gangapara, Police Reserve, West Chowkidinghee, Kadamoni, Lachit Nagar, Mulkubasa, Gandhi Nagar and Padum Nagar area. A few wards in the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) are also faced with the water-logging problem.
Other areas which are faced with the flood include the area alongside Red Cross road, Khalihamari, Naliapool, Gangapara, Chiring Tekela Gaon, Jeoti Nagar, Jiban Phukan Nagar, Shantipara, Bishnu Nagar, Kalibari, Bairagimoth, Running Gate, Amollapatty and areas alongside the bank of the Brahmaputra.
More villages flooded: Meanwhile, at least 30 villages in Larua mouza have gone under floodwater and vast stretches of paddy plantations in the area have remained submerged.
Food and drinking water have become a matter of worry for the people in three flood-hit panchayats � Kalakhowa, Lezai and Gordhuria.
Floodwaters have entered living rooms of the villagers, making it impossible for them to stay or cook inside. Most of the affected people have preferred to stay inside their flooded homes.
The district administration has set up atleast three relief camps in the area. �But the affected people, who are mostly tribals, do not like to come to the camps to stay,� Bubul Lekharu, Circle Officer, Dibrugarh (West) Revenue Circle told the newspaper yesterday.
Some of the affected families along with their surviving cattle and poultry have taken shelter in the temporary tents on nearby roads and other highlands. Affected people are particularly worried about their agricultural holdings. �What shall we eat if our entire paddy plantations are washed away?� Deben Deuri, a villager, said.
Flash floods affected three more villages yesterday. The flood in Oakland Tea Estate under Dibrugarh (East) Revenue Circle also continues to submerge more stretches of the area. Sixteen more houses came under floodwaters yesterday.
