Seven days have gone by but some parts of Dibrugarh town in eastern Assam are still submerged underwater.
The district administration has used high power pumps in order to pump out water from the town.
Due to poor drainage system, every year during monsoon, Dibrugarh town faces the waterlogging problem.
Waterlogging has been a perennial problem in Dibrugarh but the concerned department has failed to solve the vexed issue.
The town protection drain, built in the early 1950s, lost the capacity to flush out rainwater.
Corsan Corviam, a Madrid-based construction firm, was awarded the Rs 169.89-crore contract on February 20, 2014, under the Assam Urban Infrastructure Investment Programme.
Work on the 9.5 km drain began on June 5, 2014, but the pace remained so sluggish that even after the May 22, 2017 deadline, less than 20 per cent of work could be finished.
In November 2017, the company left the project after it’s parent organization filed for bankruptcy.
The people of the town have faced severe waterlogging every year.
In 2015, the entire town was underwater for 10 days at a stretch.
“Every year the town is facing similar problems but the government has failed to solve the problem. Unchecked encroachment and lack of maintenance have affected the functioning of the stormwater drain,” alleged Babul Das, a resident of Dibrugarh.
“It was decided that the entire drain will be covered with box culvert but a section of people has rejected the idea for their vested interest and pleaded for an open drain,” he added.
This year all the 22- wards under Dibrugarh Muncipal Board (DMB) were underwater.
The rainwater has entered almost every other house and people have shifted to other places.
“There is no master plan for Dibrugarh. Every year, the town has been facing the similar problem but the concerned department has failed to solve the problem. Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal belongs from Dibrugarh district but in last four years his government has failed to solve the genuine problem,” said a senior citizen.
