DIBRUGARH: For third consecutive day, Dibrugarh town remained under water after most of the streets were waterlogged and the main Dibrugarh Town Protection (DTP) drain failed to flush out rain water from the town. The continuous downpour has caused extensive flooding, with knee-deep water invading the Dibrugarh Municipal Corporation office.
This deluge is not confined to the municipal office. Numerous government and private offices throughout Dibrugarh have been similarly impacted. The flood waters have infiltrated various schools, social institutions, government offices, and main roads across the city including most of the wards under the Dibrugarh Municipal Corporation, causing major disruptions for the last three days.
The severity of the situation is worsened by the poorly designed and unscientific construction of the city’s drainage systems. Residents attribute the artificial flooding to inadequate drainage planning, which has turned streets into waterways.
The recent flash floods have triggered anger among residents, casting doubts on the efficacy of the newly-upgraded Dibrugarh Municipal Corporation in tackling the longstanding issue of waterlogging.
Since several decades, the Dibrugarh residents has been battling with waterlogging and flash flood problem. The recent flash floods have triggered anger among residents, casting doubts on the efficacy of the newly upgraded Dibrugarh Municipal Corporation in tackling the longstanding issue of waterlogging.
Questions have been raised regarding the absence of preventive measures taken to clean major drains, including the Dibrugarh Town Protection Drain, before the onset of the monsoon season.
“Recently, Dibrugarh Municipal Board was upgraded as Dibrugarh Municipal Corporation but the waterlogging problem remained same. The drainage system of Dibrugarh is unscientific and poor. The concerned department is more focused on roads but not prioritising to built the drains. The Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan failed to solve the flash flood and waterlogging problem of the town,” alleged a retired government employee.
He added, “The major DTP drain should be cleaned up properly but it seems that the concerned department failed to clean the drain. Every year, the residents of Dibrugarh have to face similar situation during monsoon. Unplanned construction of flats and building also causes waterlogging in Dibrugarh town.”
The town protection drain, built in the early 1950s, has reached the capacity to flush out rainwater but despite repeated request from the concerned citizens to construct the drain nothing has been done till date.
Despite serving as Assam's chief minister for five years, Union minister Sarbananda was unable to address the state's issues with waterlogging and flash floods. The issue persists, as the people of Dibrugarh town continue to be plagued by the ghost of the 2015 flash flood.
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