STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: As Guwahati continued to grapple with recurring monsoon waterlogging, residents blamed the indiscriminate dumping of garbage into drains for worsening the city’s drainage crisis. While inadequate drainage infrastructure remained a persistent challenge, both citizens and civic officials said plastic waste and other litter clogging drainage channels had significantly reduced their capacity to carry rainwater during heavy showers. Recent rainfall left several localities, including Wireless, Birubari, Hatigaon, Beltola, Six Mile and Maligaon, waterlogged, disrupting traffic and daily life. Residents said blocked drains prevented rainwater from flowing freely, causing floodwaters to recede slowly even in areas with existing drainage networks.
Many residents stressed that addressing the problem required collective responsibility. They said the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) must continue maintaining drains and ensuring efficient waste collection, while citizens should stop dumping garbage into drains and public spaces.
A resident of the Wireless area said both the administration and the public shared equal responsibility for keeping the city clean. Another commuter observed that even well-designed drainage systems would fail if people continued to dispose of waste indiscriminately.
Residents said plastic bottles, food wrappers and other discarded materials routinely accumulated in roadside drains, obstructing the flow of stormwater during heavy rainfall. A shopkeeper near Beltola Wireless also urged the public to adopt responsible waste disposal practices, saying careless littering ultimately affected everyone during the monsoon.
Although the GMC has established waste collection systems and designated collection points across the city, residents said improper disposal of garbage continued to undermine these efforts.
A GMC official said the civic body had been conducting awareness campaigns and penalising those found dumping waste into drains. However, the official admitted that many people continued to ignore repeated appeals to keep drainage channels clear.
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