Dimapur flood man-made; drains desilting still on, says DC

Few schools shut after heavy rains trigger flooding

DIMAPUR— As few hours of rain inundated several localities of Dimapur on Sunday, forcing few schools in low-lying areas to declare a holiday on Monday, Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur, Sachin Jaiswal, said it is made-made.

Rampant land encroachment, poor drainage system, and construction of buildings are among the main causes of flood in the commercial hub, Jaiswal told Eastern Mirror.

On the district administration’s preparedness for the monsoon, he said they are planning to meet ward and colony councils so that they can address land encroachment issues in their areas.

While maintaining that improper drainage system is one of the main causes of floods in the city, he underlined the importance of citizens inculcating basic civic sense of not littering and disposing garbage in drains.

The DC informed that the district administration along with the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) started desilting of drains a week ago but they were yet to complete the work due to legacy waste issue.

Legacy waste is quite high and people have to stop throwing garbage into the drains, he reiterated.

Legacy waste is garbage that have been collected and kept for years at some barren land or a place dedicated for landfill.

Jaiswal said that the district administration and DMC had a meeting on Monday in connection with desilting of drains, which is ongoing.

Basic things people should follow to avoid floods is stopping land encroachment and not allowing the citizens to throw garbage in drains, he said.

Maintaining that the district administration alone cannot address civic issues, the DC said the people have to be watchful of their activities. We are trying our best but wastes dumped in drains can’t be cleared overnight, he added.

Meanwhile, Susanta Dhar, Headmaster of Mother Mary School Dimapur, which is prone to floods, said that the institute was flooded on Sunday too.

One classroom and the headmaster’s office, which is on the ground floor of the school building, were damaged by the flood.

He said that they had meet with the council and given suggestions too as the school faces the same issue every year, but no action has been initiated so far.

The headmaster claimed that none of the drains (in the vicinity) works properly and so there is no outlet for rainwater.

He shared that the school remained open on Monday despite the flood as exams were underway for some classes.

However, some educational institutions like Holy Cross Higher Secondary School and Carewell School remain closed on Monday due to the flood situation.

Classrooms at Carewell School were still muddy and cleaning was in progress when this newspaper visited its premises on Monday.

Related news: Dimapur’s Flood Crisis Leaves Residents Vulnerable and Frustrated

Heavy rainfall likely to continue

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that extremely heavy rainfall is likely to occur in various areas across Nagaland from June 13 to the 16th.

It said districts like Mokokchung, Kiphire and Phek are likely to experience extremely heavy rainfall on June 13, while the same is expected in Dimapur, Kohima, Wokha, Mokokchung, Mon and Longleng on June 14.

On June 15, Tuensang, Kiphire, Wokha and Mon are likely to experience extremely heavy rainfall, while the same is expected in Mokokchung, Wokha, Dimapur, Kiphire and Longleng on June 16, according to IMD.

As few hours of rain inundated several localities of Dimapur on Sunday, forcing few schools in low-lying areas to declare a holiday on Monday, Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur, Sachin Jaiswal, said it is made-made.