Dibrugarh: Dibrugarh city has once again been submerged under a severe artificial flood following heavy rainfall in the early hours of the day.
Several major areas of the town are inundated, leading to widespread disruption and inconvenience for residents.
The city has faced similar flooding incidents in recent years, highlighting recurring failures in urban drainage planning and flood preparedness.
Key areas, including Chowkidinghee, Mancotta Road, Santipara, K.P. Road, and Ashok Path, are under water, exposing the inadequacy of the city’s drainage system and the absence of effective flood mitigation measures.
Dibrugarh has been declared the second capital of Assam after Guwahati, but the artificial flood problem remains the same as ever.
“Every year we have to face the water-logging problem. Most of the drains are clogged. The Dibrugarh Town Protection (DTP) Drain has failed to flush out rainwater from the Dibrugarh town,” said Dipankar Hazarika, a resident of Dibrugarh.
He added, “The DTP drain, which originates from Seujpur (zero point), passes through densely populated areas in the heart of Dibrugarh town before reaching the Sessa River, covering a total distance of 9.5 km. A significant portion of the drain, about 5.56 km, falls within Dibrugarh town, while the remaining 3.85 km is located on the outskirts.”
“There should be a proper mechanism to solve the artificial flood problem. Work on drains is ongoing in some areas, and as a result, the rainwater could not pass easily, causing waterlogging in many areas of Dibrugarh,” said an official of the Dibrugarh Municipal Corporation (DMC).
The bustling Mancotta Road, a major thoroughfare in Dibrugarh, remains submerged under knee-deep water, particularly near Thana Chariali overbridge and the Dibrugarh police reserve.
Artificial floods and waterlogging are major issues in Dibrugarh during every election season, but political leaders have consistently failed to address the decade-old problem, allowing it to persist and take a toll on daily life.
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