Torrential Rains Expose Drainage Failures in Assam's Golaghat

Severe rain over the last 24 hours has submerged a number of areas in Assam, with Golaghat town and Rukminigaon area of Guwahati suffering the worst of artificial flooding. Roads, markets, and residential colonies have become water channels, paralyzing everyday life and causing thousands of residents to suffer.

In the town of Golaghat, Court Road, Bazar (Market) areas, Santipur, Napur, Tapan Nagar, and Srimanta Nagar are the worst-hit areas. According to the residents, water has entered houses and shops, and cars are stranded on water-logged roads.

Even after constructing big drains and sewage systems in various wards, people claim that unscientific planning and poor implementation have increased the level of waterlogging instead of ending it.

"The drains are huge, but the water has nowhere to go. Rather than relief, we are enduring even more," commented a Court Road resident. Several have also vented ire at the local MLA and state cabinet minister Ajanta Neog, as well as the Golaghat Municipal Board, for doing nothing during such crises.

It is no better in the state capital. Rukminigaon locality in Guwahati has been inundated with huge areas under water by relentless rain. Floodwater has clogged important roads, and people were made to take shelter indoors. In a picture that looked like riverine floods, SDRF boats were seen plying on the main roads on Monday morning, evacuating stranded citizens and delivering essentials.

Urban flash flooding has been a perennial nightmare for Assam's larger towns over the years, attributed mostly to unchecked building, inadequate drainage, and deficiency of scientific planning. With the monsoon still refusing to relent, locals fear the man-made flood could turn worse in the days ahead if immediate action is not initiated.

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