GUWAHATI, July 30 - An hour-long downpour this afternoon once again exposed the flaws of flood preparedness of Guwahati city as the citizens struggled for hours on water-logged roads.
Instead of providing the much needed relief from the scorching sun, the rains brought a new set of problems for Guwahatians in the form of water-logged arterial roads and massive traffic jams on the city arteries that continued for hours.
The GS Road, RG Baruah Road and GNB-MRD Roads witnessed massive water-logging and traffic congestion the entire afternoon, even hours after the rain stopped. The other low lying areas like Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, Rajgarh and Pub Sarania, parts of Ambari and Panbazar areas also witnessed artificial floods. However, the situation eased towards the evening.
Meanwhile, many vehicles got stuck on the water-logged roads as the commuters tried braving the inundation.
�I have the experience of city�s water-logging, but somehow felt that it won�t be so deep this time as the drains have been freshly cleaned and it was just an hour�s rainfall. However, I realised my folly when my scooter got stuck in knee-deep water in Chandmari area and I had to wait for close to an hour to take it out from the muddy road,� said Ratul Bora, a resident of Silpukhuri, working with a private firm at Noonmati.
Like him, many others faced similar problems near the Zoo Tiniali, Christianbasti, Panbazar, B Borooah Road, Panjabari, Sixmile, Hatigaon and several other parts of Guwahati.
