Dimapur, June 28: Incensed citizens and urban commuters across a good number of proper Dimapur have been left fording flooded roads and colonies following heavy rain during the past few days. To make matters even worse, sewage and floating garbage carried from unattended garbage dumps across the city have not only rankled citizens’ noses but have also sparked fears of outbreak of diseases.
Initial inputs informed of flooding in Signal Basti, Burma Camp, and the Supermarket localities. Water-retentive areas such as the Purana Bazar-to-Golaghat road regions, which are flooded every year, are believed to have been inundated as well. Police colony and Bank colony are also reported to have been flooded.
At Signal Basti, a flooded junction near the Evening Bazar (or ‘Shaam Bazar’) left motorists and citizens fuming–every bout of rain brings in the flood in this area due to the lack of an outlet for outflows. Another problem is that people throw garbage at the Signal junction carelessly, often strewn and spread across a large swath. The current pile of garbage had been festering for many months, giving the locality what is experienced to be a sort of permanent stench. With the rains early this week, commuters had to virtually ford through ‘flooding garbage’ of Signal Basti’s infamous junction.
Observers have attributed the frequent flooding of urban areas–the hardest-hit beings streets covered in sewage and garbage–to developmental flaws. For instance, citizens point out that in the areas that have fairly decent drains and ‘nullah,’ they still get clogged by garbage left piling for weeks, sometimes for months.
Likewise, even in areas that have drains and ‘nullah’, inundation spread before flooding because while there are drains, there are no outlets for the water to vent. Hence, water / waste collect. In the localities that have no drains, the situation is self-explanatory and tacit.
Another common reason is encroachment by builders: houses and buildings constructed over or near drainages which in turn lead to arrested water and garbage formation.
Citizens from Burma Camp informed about flooding in their area on Tuesday following continuous rain. Namgalong colony in Burma Camp ward reportedly had citizens fleeing their residence when water hit. “Some of the residents of colony could not save their personal belongings. Namgalong colony under ward no 5, Burma Camp, has to face flood every year during monsoon season which cost lost of properties worth lakh of rupees,” concerned community members said in an email to the media on Tuesday.
“(Given in verbatim) The main reason of flood causes by lack of proper drainage and blocking of huge garbage in pool at Walford Road which stops water to free flow coming towards from Nagarjan-Police colony-Bank Colony and go straight towards Ragailong colony, Chungaizeang colony and ends in Dhansiri river,” the message stated.
The residents informed that clogged areas at Walford were affected Namgalong colony.
“The reason of flood is also construction of house and buildings near drainage which makes water difficult to flow and stag in one place,” they said.
Residents of Namgalong colony have appealed to the district authorities to look in the matter “and also at the same time to survey the drainage coming towards from Nagarjan and rescue the residents from flood which is actually not happening because of rain but because of lack of proper drainage.”
Residents have also requested the establishment of the chief medical officer of Dimapur to “send their team and help residents with spraying bleaching to avoid any water borne disease.”
