SILCHAR, Aug 1 - The heavy shower on Monday late night threw life out of gear for the residents of Silchar as the city was submerged on Tuesday.
With the civic administration literally failing to tackle the situation, life became miserable for pedestrians, motorists throughout the day. Almost all the major parts of the city including Ambikapatty, Shillongpatty, Link Road, Church Road and its adjoining low-lying areas like Sarat Pally were submerged due to clogged drains and canals.
According to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Cachar, 134.20 mm rain was registered on Monday which has once again triggered a fresh rise in the water level of river Barak. Reports from the DDMA suggest a rise in the water level by 6 cm per hour.
People were seen struggling to deal with the drain water which overflowed and entered into the households, bringing with it filth and mud. Most of the schools and colleges remained suspended for the day as students were unable to enter the premises due to heavy water congestion.
Annoyed with the recurring problem, Haridas Dutta, a resident of Church Road and also the secretary of a local consumer forum Nagarik Swartha Raksha Sangram Parishad said, �My home is still waterlogged and it is quite frustrating to witness the inaction on the part of the civic board and the administration to solve the mess.�
On the other hand, when asked about measures to solve the waterlogging woes, NN Tagore, the chairman of Silchar Municipal Board told this Correspondent, �Even as the Cachar district administration took proactive steps to clean the major canals like Rangirkhal and Longaikhal, there is lot left to be done.�
Interestingly, the civic board chairperson admitted that the initiative to clean the canals could not be completed due to a shortage of funds. �We need at least Rs 1 crore additional fund to complete the de-siltation of the canals,� Tagore claimed.
On the other hand, Deputy Commissioner S Vishwanathan has said that the rainfall on Monday night has been one of the highest recorded rainfall on a single night. �The district administration has done a review of the situation and found that barring Bilpar, water from other areas is receding despite a severe deluge and this is because of the dredging of the main canals of the city. We shall organise a separate meeting to tackle the water-logging issue in Bilpar,� the Deputy Commissioner said.
