GUWAHATI, July 26 - An hour-long spell of heavy downpour late in the afternoon reduced many parts of the city into a deluge of water and filth, bringing normal life of the citizens to a grinding halt.
The worst affected areas were Bamunimaidam, Chandmari, parts of RG Baruah Road, Bharalumukh, AT Road, etc.
The swirling rainwater inundated city roads, by-lanes and residential areas, giving the people a harrowing time for hours. The inadequacy of the existing drainage stood exposed once again, as people braved ankle to knee-deep waters in many areas to pursue their activities.
To add to the commuters� woes, the public transport services including city buses and trekkers virtually came to a halt for quite some time following the rains. People were caught unawares by the situation, and the fact that the deluge occurred in the evening posed a grave danger to those who dared to walk on overflowing roads and footpaths with manholes in the dark.
Water-logging, a persistent menace in the capital city, has shown little signs of abatement with a single burst of shower being enough to send the city reeling under artificial flood. Over the years, hundreds of crores of rupees have been spent to mitigate the problem, but the results have been far from inspiring.
Encroachment, deforestation and earth-cutting on the hills, as also the rapid shrinkage of wetlands in the face of mounting anthropogenic pressures, and the inadequate drainage have been a major cause of the city�s water-logging. The State government, however, has failed to exhibit the kind of sincerity required for tackling the dual menace, with hardly any intervention coming to stop the vandalism being perpetrated on the hills and wetlands.
GUWAHATI, July 26 - An hour-long spell of heavy downpour late in the afternoon reduced many parts of the city into a deluge of water and filth, bringing normal life of the citizens to a grinding halt.
The worst affected areas were Bamunimaidam, Chandmari, parts of RG Baruah Road, Bharalumukh, AT Road, etc.
The swirling rainwater inundated city roads, by-lanes and residential areas, giving the people a harrowing time for hours. The inadequacy of the existing drainage stood exposed once again, as people braved ankle to knee-deep waters in many areas to pursue their activities.
To add to the commuters� woes, the public transport services including city buses and trekkers virtually came to a halt for quite some time following the rains. People were caught unawares by the situation, and the fact that the deluge occurred in the evening posed a grave danger to those who dared to walk on overflowing roads and footpaths with manholes in the dark.
Water-logging, a persistent menace in the capital city, has shown little signs of abatement with a single burst of shower being enough to send the city reeling under artificial flood. Over the years, hundreds of crores of rupees have been spent to mitigate the problem, but the results have been far from inspiring.
Encroachment, deforestation and earth-cutting on the hills, as also the rapid shrinkage of wetlands in the face of mounting anthropogenic pressures, and the inadequate drainage have been a major cause of the city�s water-logging. The State government, however, has failed to exhibit the kind of sincerity required for tackling the dual menace, with hardly any intervention coming to stop the vandalism being perpetrated on the hills and wetlands.
