A spell of rain & Chittaranjan lane is water-logged; residents allege ‘no help from authorities’

Oct. 20: After the scorching heat during the recently concluded Durga Puja, residents of Silchar got relief due to rainfall on Tuesday and Wednesday. But though the people got relieved from the heat, yet with spell of shower, the residents of Chittaranjan Lane at NS Avenue (Hailakandi Road, Ward No.17), Silchar are again facing problem of water logging. Since yesterday night, the entire lane is submerged in rain water.

“This is not a new phenomenon. We have been suffering a hell-like situation from the past few years. We have made repeated appeals to our MP, MLA and district administration, but failed to get any positive response from them,” said a resident of the lane to our correspondent. On 10 February, 2021, the residents of Chiitaranjan Lane even gave a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar, wherein they narrated their condition due to water-logging during the rains.

The residents in their memorandum to DC Cachar wrote, “Longai khal has passed near our lane, which results in artificial flood particularly at Chittaranjan Lane and National highway point, primarily owing to the shallow depth of the said khal both in the upstream and downstream. During the tenure of S Viswanathan, initiative was taken by cleaning the khal . But his efforts stopped mid-way following his transfer. However, at that phase, we got somewhat relief for a certain period. Now, again, we are facing with this problem and so we request your intervention so that we can lead a normal life.”

Residents of the lane on Wednesday took to the social media platforms and posted pictures of stagnant rain water just after a spell of shower. “This is continuing for years and no action being taken even after repeated requests to the concerned authority as well as to our honourable DC madam. I have sent a pic last month also to our MLA Sir. Its really disheartening as the lane is adjacent to the main road,” wrote Dr Kankana Nath, a retired college teacher who resides in Chittaranjan Lane. Another resident Nandini Roy too voiced her grievance and wrote, “We are going through this precarious situation, but getting no respond from any quarters. We are finding it very difficult to come out even for most urgent requirements. Constant water logging has also caused great damage to our buildings. We appeal to the district administration to solve this problem of water logging on war footing.”