City Correspondent
GUWAHATI, March 9: The residents of the city have urged the Kamrup (M) district administration and Guwahati Municipal Corporation to begin clearing of drains and water channels soon to tackle the problem of artificial flooding and waterlogged roads.
For the past several years, the city has borne the brunt of waterlogging during monsoons. Last year, the city had witnessed one of the worst artificial floods.
“There are several areas the administration needs to focus on. Keeping drains and water channels clear is the most important. Clearing the drains will be difficult once the monsoons start,” Diganta Bora, a government employee who stays in Hatigaon said.
“We had witnessed waterlogging in front of the Hatigaon High School on the Hatigaon-Bhetapara road due to clogged drains last year but no action is being initiated to curb the problem yet,” he added.
Another resident of Bharalumukh Bablu Kumar said, “Non-cleaning of drains and water bodies on time are the major reasons of flash flood in the city every year. This time too, pre-monsoon showers which are round the corner will expose the horrific conditions of the city drains.”
A senior official of GMC said that there is a delay in the cleaning of big and medium drains in the city this year. “We could not complete the tendering process due to election code of conduct,” he said. For cleaning of drains and desilting of water bodies, GMC provides contracts to a third party.
However, the official said that the corporation has started cleaning of drains in some areas of the city by engaging their workers.
“Workers have been engaged in the cleaning process. We have deployed a Bolero-mounted excavator at Mukhya Path in Tarun Nagar and manual labourers in Kahilipara and others areas as well”, the official added.
