DIBRUGARH, July 23 - The city today woke up to a harrowing water-logging like never before as the heavy overnight downpour threw normal life completely out of gear in the entire municipality and its adjacent areas.
All roads, lanes, markets, colonies and housing areas have been affected by the water-logging. Rainwater has seeped into office rooms, business establishments and living rooms in most of the municipality areas. Several educational institutions including parts of Assam Medical College and Hospital have come under the rainwaters.
The artificial flood caused disruption of vehicular movements throughout the day. The vehicular traffic in several busy areas like Thana Chariali, Chowkidinghee, Boiragimoth, Graham Bazar and Paltan Bazar was affected as floodwaters flowed above the roads.
Low-lying areas Ambari, Kalibari, Kodamoni, Molokhubosa, Graham Bazar, Lachit Nagar, Vishnu Nagar, PWD Colony, Jibon Phukan Nagar, Khaniagaon, Basbari, Shantipara, Naliapool, Durgabari, Gangapara, Dibrujan, Jhalukpara and Amollapatty are the worst affected. Most of the marooned people remained indoors as the floodwaters rose up to the waist level in some areas.
�The city has experienced water-logging earlier too but not to this magnitude,� said Anju Borkotoky, one of the leading women activists of the town. She said that the artificial flood had proved the failure of the district administration. After receiving huge funds for the drainage system, the water-logging situation is deteriorating year after year, she added.
As usual, the police too were at the receiving end of the water menace today, with the entire Police Reserve under a sheet of water. The SP�s residence became flooded once again, and Dibrugarh SP Rana Bhuyan had to shift residence to the Circuit House this morning. To add to the woes of the police, the SP�s office complex too became both marooned and flooded.
The deputy commissioner�s office complex too was severely affected by water-logging for the most of the day. People had a harrowing time going to the DC�s offices, while officials and government employees too had to wade through knee-deep water in the complex. The situation was just a little better in the nearby Sales Tax and Income Tax office complexes.
Despite the havoc caused by the water-logging, mitigation measures have not been initiated by the administration or the Municipal Board authorities. It must be mentioned here that the civic body workers are on a seven-day work boycott in support of their various demands.