GUWAHATI: With every spell of rain, residents around the Jorabat stretch on National Highway 37 have to deal with an artificial flash flood. A brief spell of rain is enough to create chaos in the entire area.
The residents are furious with the administration and the National Highways Authority of India for not foreseeing this problem. A local resident of Jorabat speaking to G Plus said, "There is no proper rainwater management system to provide relief. Residents and business establishments on both sides of the highway lose a lot when it rains, even if it is for a while. Goods worth lakhs gets damaged every time there is a flash flood. Moreover, the water also damages a lot of parked vehicles. After the water recedes, we then have to deal with the filth, dirt and sludge, which takes several days to clear."
Water logging in the area is now common after a brief spell of rain. The Khanapara - 11th Mile stretch is the worst affected during rains. If the downpour is continuous, Jorabat turns into a reservoir of rainwater that come down from the hills of Meghalaya and Assam and the highway running through it which gets immersed in waist-deep water. This, of course, brings the traffic to a standstill and a lot of general public gets affected. Ambulances with patients have to bear the brunt of it additionally.
While there have been several points discussed on the flooding of the Jorabat highway by both, the Assam and Meghalaya Government, there has been no actual work that has shown significant improvement of the condition as citizens wait for respite.