GUWAHATI: Almost all of Guwahati city was plunged into an early morning chaos on Friday, May 13, after heavy rains since 5 AM created artificial floods in several key areas, bringing traffic to a halt and making the daily commute impossible for students, office-goers and others. Interestingly, this happened on the very day that the city’s new Mayor and Deputy Mayor are scheduled to be formally sworn in to their duties.
Both of them had fought and won the recently concluded Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a party that has promised permanent solutions to Guwahati’s recurring problems, artificial flash floods being prominent among them.
Many roads in different parts of the city were under several feet of water, as continuing rains fully submerged road dividers at many places and made vehicular traffic come to a standstill. Television news flashed images of people wading through streets in waist deep water in some instances.
The resulting traffic jams created gridlock across large parts of the city, including in Chandmari, Noonmati, Zoo Road, Ganeshguri and Hatigaon and across almost the entire stretch of GS Road. Cab and bike hailing services were severely disrupted, with many reporting cancelled trips and endless waits to be picked up.
Meanwhile, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) issued a heavy rain warning for Kamrup Metropolitan and Rural districts, with continuous showers forecast till 8.30 PM today. Rain and thundershowers have further been predicted for Guwahati city for the next four days.