GUWAHATI, Aug 20 � Heavy showers last night resulted in inundation of a number of residential areas and the RG Baruah Road in the city, throwing people�s lives out of gear today.
Among the worst-hit by the deluge were several residential areas and lanes and by-lanes in greater Panjabari and localities towards the east of the GS Road near Dispur, Rukminigaon, etc. Equally affected were Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar and Tarun Nagar where water was knee- to waist-deep. The busy Ganeshguri intersection, too, stayed severely waterlogged for a long time. The waterlogging also triggered heavy traffic snarl. To make matters worse, the water remained stagnant in many of those localities with roads, household campuses, and even houses remaining under water till late in the evening.
�This is a new phenomenon, as waterlogging was very rare in our area. Now a single burst of shower is enough to cause inundation, and worse, the artificial floods do not subside for an entire day and even beyond,� rued Rajiv Sharma, a resident of FA Ahmed Nagar, Panjabari.
Sharma said that the problem of waterlogging worsened manifold in Panjabari in recent times, thanks largely to rampant deforestation in Jorabat area and the filling up of all wetlands and low-lying areas in and around Panjabari and VIP Road.
�The result of the twin menace is that water in greater volume finds its way to Panjabari and remains stagnant as it does not have adequate outlet to flow out. The poor drainage is also adding to the severity of the artificial floods,� he said.
Local residents were of the view that to ease things a scientific drainage must be put in place. �There is hardly any drainage here which ensures that the water cannot go out of the residential area. A scientific drainage could have at least prevented prolonged inundation of the area which we are facing today,� S Ahmed, another resident said.
Juripar and Sankardev Nagar are two other areas bearing the brunt of the artificial floods. According to Urmila Chakravorty of Sankardev Nagar (opposite to Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra), the waterlogging has been unprecedented this year.
�We have been living here for three decades but never before did we face artificial flood of this scale. Water has entered our houses and we are having a harrowing time since late last night. While we feel that more and more water is coming from the Meghalaya side of late, an immediate reason behind today�s deluge could be the raising of the level of the Sankardev Nagar road by several feet,� she said, adding that abnormal raising of the road was causing stagnation of the water accumulated in the area.
Local residents have also urged the administration and the State Government to take up the mater of deforestation and hill-cutting in Meghalaya at the earliest. �We want the administration and the Government to treat this matter in extreme seriousness. If the worsening situation persists, the residential areas of Panjabari will be rendered unlivable,� Chakravorty said.
GUWAHATI, Aug 20 � Heavy showers last night resulted in inundation of a number of residential areas and the RG Baruah Road in the city, throwing people�s lives out of gear today.
Among the worst-hit by the deluge were several residential areas and lanes and by-lanes in greater Panjabari and localities towards the east of the GS Road near Dispur, Rukminigaon, etc. Equally affected were Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar and Tarun Nagar where water was knee- to waist-deep. The busy Ganeshguri intersection, too, stayed severely waterlogged for a long time. The waterlogging also triggered heavy traffic snarl. To make matters worse, the water remained stagnant in many of those localities with roads, household campuses, and even houses remaining under water till late in the evening.
�This is a new phenomenon, as waterlogging was very rare in our area. Now a single burst of shower is enough to cause inundation, and worse, the artificial floods do not subside for an entire day and even beyond,� rued Rajiv Sharma, a resident of FA Ahmed Nagar, Panjabari.
Sharma said that the problem of waterlogging worsened manifold in Panjabari in recent times, thanks largely to rampant deforestation in Jorabat area and the filling up of all wetlands and low-lying areas in and around Panjabari and VIP Road.
�The result of the twin menace is that water in greater volume finds its way to Panjabari and remains stagnant as it does not have adequate outlet to flow out. The poor drainage is also adding to the severity of the artificial floods,� he said.
Local residents were of the view that to ease things a scientific drainage must be put in place. �There is hardly any drainage here which ensures that the water cannot go out of the residential area. A scientific drainage could have at least prevented prolonged inundation of the area which we are facing today,� S Ahmed, another resident said.
Juripar and Sankardev Nagar are two other areas bearing the brunt of the artificial floods. According to Urmila Chakravorty of Sankardev Nagar (opposite to Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra), the waterlogging has been unprecedented this year.
�We have been living here for three decades but never before did we face artificial flood of this scale. Water has entered our houses and we are having a harrowing time since late last night. While we feel that more and more water is coming from the Meghalaya side of late, an immediate reason behind today�s deluge could be the raising of the level of the Sankardev Nagar road by several feet,� she said, adding that abnormal raising of the road was causing stagnation of the water accumulated in the area.
Local residents have also urged the administration and the State Government to take up the mater of deforestation and hill-cutting in Meghalaya at the earliest. �We want the administration and the Government to treat this matter in extreme seriousness. If the worsening situation persists, the residential areas of Panjabari will be rendered unlivable,� Chakravorty said.
