Amid COVID-19 fight, water logging in Guwahati after downpour adds to citizens' woes

Guwahati: Amid the ongoing fight with the COVID-19 disease, waterlogging at several key locations after a brief spell of downpour in the morning has added to the woes of Assam's largest city, Guwahati.

In several locations across the city, the mobility was severely restricted as tiny pools were formed even as the stubborn rain refused to recede. Within a few hours of the beginning of the drizzle, the entire city region had more or less been touched by the clogging.

In the early morning hours, persons commuting to work were caught unawares, and traffic snarls were witnessed; horns honking, pedestrians running to escape the rain's wrath, and the sight of umbrellas became the norm in the morning today, adding to the sense of overall chaos.

While some would welcome the rain, especially in view of the searing heat of the past two days, the 'urban flood' has continued to create a nuisance in the lives of city dwellers.

Many of the busier localities of the city -- such as Hatigaon, parts of Zoo Road, Wireless -- saw clogging of rainwater, which, in turn, caused a good amount of grief to the locals.

In Ulubari locality, one of the busier and more commercial areas in the city, the water soon rose up to knee length. The Ulubari Uttchatar Madhyamik (Higher Secondary) school lay in an absolutely deplorable state, as the water level had risen very high, making it seemingly impossible to conduct classes.

Ironically, this comes a day after the schools in Assam reopened partially for the higher classes with several COVID-19 restrictions in place.

Waterlogging has become a serious problem in the Assam capital, with brief spells of rain enough to bring life to a complete standstill in many of the areas of the city prone to clogging.

The road that leads to the Assam BJP unit's headquarters is also among those that become clogged after showers as potholes abound along the route. The locals' complaints to the concerned bodies to end their plight seems to have fallen on deaf ears so far.

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