Again, poor drainage and road threaten Kalibari with flood

[caption id="attachment_104243" align="alignleft" width="550"] A power conduit stands amid a half-closed but overflowing culvert along Kalibari Road in Dimapur.[/caption] Staff Reporter Dimapur, March 20 :The spell of rain during the week and on Monday led to, as usual, water clogging along the Kalibari road in Dimapur including other roads in the area. Although Monday’s rain was light, the road was flooded–sewage from clogged drains. [caption id="attachment_104244" align="alignleft" width="550"] The drain along Kalibari Road is almost flooded even from a light shower on Monday.[/caption] Senior residents of Kalibari road have expressed concern: worries about community health especially for those in low-lying areas which are usually inundated by the water overflowing from drainages during the monsoon. Although the problem has grown severer every year, even with the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) putting in their bit, there has yet to be a solution. [caption id="attachment_104245" align="alignleft" width="550"] Vehicles struggle through a muddy Kalibari Road Dimapur, just a few kilometres away from the Dimapur Municipal Office.[/caption] The municipal body did clean a stretch of the drains in the locality. But the work, in bits, has never been enough to tackle the problem. The drains that run onto these roads are clogged at most places. A senior resident of Kalibari explained how the blockages were caused: the drains are about 4 feet, well-located enough for the water to flow. However, the citizen explained, the garbage and debris that have accumulated in the drains turn into stubborn chunks, slowing the flow of water. [caption id="attachment_104246" align="alignleft" width="550"] The pavements of Kalibari Road look like a mud stream after Monday’s light shower.[/caption] The residents had submitted an application validated by photographs to the DMC the previous year. They had requested repairs of footpaths, drains, and culverts along Kalibari road and the road leading toward the Railway High School. Explaining their plight in the application, the residents sought attention to damaged slabs of culverts in the area. They stated that ‘adjacent to the culvert is an electric pole with heavy overhead electric lines which may certainly cause danger and damage the life and properties of the residents as well as commuters’. The residents appealed to the authority to repair and renovate the said facilities on priority. On Monday, the residents lamented the lackadaisical attitude of the city’s authorities and that things had not improved. They hoped that their problems would be addressed before the monsoon season arrives.