Staff reporter
Guwahati: The capital city of Assam, touted as the gateway to the Northeast and a “Smart City in the making,” is instead sinking in its own failures. Artificial flooding, driven by unplanned urbanization, encroachment of wetlands, clogged drains, and unchecked construction, has turned Guwahati into a waterlogged trap after every heavy shower, leaving residents furious and helpless.
Across the city, the scenes are distressingly repetitive: vehicles stranded like abandoned boats, homes inundated with filthy water, children trudging through waist-deep water to reach school, and office-goers stranded in knee-high slush. From Beltola to Hatigaon, Anil Nagar to Nabin Nagar, Kahilipara to Rukminigaon, no locality has been spared. For many, the much-hyped “Smart City” project now feels like little more than a cruel joke.
Experts point out that while Guwahati’s fragile geography, nestled between the Brahmaputra and surrounding hills, poses natural challenges, the real crisis is man-made. Wetlands have been filled for real estate projects, hills are being cut illegally, and the drainage network is outdated, poorly maintained, and choked with garbage. Despite crores spent every year in the name of flood-prevention, residents say little has changed on the ground.
A Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) official, when asked, said, “The water level decreases instantly once the rain stops, but continuous rain turns out to be an issue. We are discussing possible options.”
But residents say such responses are little more than excuses. “Discussing options? That’s just another way of doing nothing. We are forced to live this nightmare year after year,” fumed a resident of Anil Nagar.
Citizens demand not grandiose announcements but practical steps, regular drain cleaning, strict monitoring of garbage dumping, protection of wetlands, timely alerts before heavy rainfall, and proper traffic management during waterlogging. Yet, they allege, what they mostly see are tender notices and temporary patchwork solutions.
“Crores are spent in the name of Smart City, but one hour of rain reduces us to a village. Where is the accountability?” asked another resident of Kahilipara.
Guwahati is not drowning because of nature’s fury, but because of years of civic neglect and mismanagement. Unless agencies including GMC, Water Resources, PWD, and the Traffic Police are held answerable, the city’s recurring artificial floods will remain less an unavoidable disaster and more a betrayal of its citizens.
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