Night-long rain throws life out of gear, Silchar experiences mini flood due to poor drainage

June 2: Rain, incessant rain is the only happening thing in all the three districts of Barak Valley. However, speaking about Silchar, it could be said that it’s water all the way one could see. Torrential rainfall during Monday night engulfed major parts of the town. Heavy rain also submerged various areas, adding to the misery of the urban dwellers.

Clogged drains resulted in artificial floods in areas like Ambicapatty, National Highway, N.S. Avenue, Malugram, Link Road, Sonai Road, Public School Road etc. “The authorities should construct proper drainage system to facilitate easy flow of water. We have been facing the brunt of artificial flood during every monsoon. Even a brief spell of heavy rain leads to artificial flooding,” said a man who owns a shop near Silchar National Highway point.

To add to the woe, traffic came to a standstill. “With every spell of rain, our streets are flooded; this has been the norm here,” said a man struck in the traffic who went to purchase medicines from a shop at Ambicapatty. Water was flowing fast through the road near the National Highway point. Traffic on the usually congested streets came to a grinding halt when the streets went under water. As a result, people got stranded for long hours due to traffic congestion. Many areas were seen under knee deep water due to the city’s poor drainage system.

In many areas, the rainwater not only submerged the streets and alleyways but also flooded ground floors of many buildings. The residents of Silchar town and adjacent areas still face water logging despite concerned government agencies having drawn up various plans and ambitious projects. Unwilling to be named, a former Municipal Ward Commissioner of the ruling party said, “In the past decade, urban planners had pointed out several times that rapid urbanisation of Silchar had resulted in substantial increase in impervious area, created obstruction to natural drainage patterns, and reduced the detention basins, which in turn led to the shortening of the runoff concentration time and an increase of the peak flow.”

Former Municipal Chairman, Tamal Kanti Banik too shared a somewhat similar view but went a step forward in mentioning that nothing substantial has been done in the last 5 years by the Niharendra Narayan thakur led Municipal Board. He said that the work of Silchar Municipal Conservancy is a continuous process, It should undertake regular cleaning of drains. However, taking a dig at the past BJP Board, Mr. Banik said, ” Abhrajit Chakraborty and Rajesh Das, the two close aids of former Chairman Niharendra Narayan Thakur claimed in a press meet during their tenure that all problems related to poor drainage and stagnant rain water in the urban area of Silchar has been properly taken care of. So if their claim is true, they why just a night-long shower throws life out of gear in Silchar?”

Tamal Banik also said, “During the tenure of S. Viswanathan as the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar, he tried a lot in clearing the drains, evict illegal encroaching on large drains of the town. But political interference led to his transfer. If the ruling party involves in such petty vote bank politics, than this problem of artificial flood in the town will persist for long.” As a former Chairman of SMB, he said, “The conservancy branch of SMB should regularly clean the drains. As now the SMB is run by an Executive Officer on behalf of the district administration, there is no issue of any vote bank politics. They should consult the senior citizens of those areas where water logging takes place and find out the drainage patterns which originally existed in Silchar. This would help the SMB to clear the chocked parts.”

A retired school teacher while interacting with our correspondent said, “The erstwhile SMB Chairman Niharendra Narayan Thakur was busy with the ambitious Gandhi Bagh project while being blind to the civic problems faced by the residents. Silchar needs proper drainage system first, star hotels & shopping plaza can be built later. Even the previous boards under Congress too played petty politics. We request the SMB under the administration now to provide us a civilised life. I would appeal to our DC Madam to intervene and save Silchar.”

Also Read: Mini flood in Silchar: DC Keerthi Jalli jumps into action assures immediate action

Keerthi Jalli too flung into action upon hearing about the mini flood in Silchar. She visited various parts of the town along with Executive Officer, Silchar Municipal Board, Water Resources Engineers, PWD Roads officials and others. She interacted with public there who informed her that problem has been aggravated because of encroachment by private households upon all drains, encroachment of shops on drains and filling up of drains with open trash and garbage by local households.

She visited N S Avenue Road, Radhamdhab Road, Bilpar, Purnapaul Road, Church Road. Immediate restorative action is being taken to address the problems as long lasting solutions of improved culvert work may take sometime, remarked the Deputy Commissioner.

Also Read: Mini flood in Silchar: DC Keerthi Jalli jumps into action assures immediate action