Thunderstorms hit normal life in Barak valley

 SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

 SILCHAR, April 16: Cloudy, overcast sky, showers and thunderstorms have compounded together to upset normal life across the valley of Barak. With intermittent showers for the last few days, most of the roads of this town which are already in bad shape are further worsening, creating problems for vehicular traffic, commuters and pedestrians in general. Monsoon brings with it relief and agonies together. When rain sets in, people sweating under the scorching heat of summer get relief. It also brings down the level of temperature and humidity as well.

 But, it is also a cause of concern and worry. In particular, Shillongpatty road, better known as Shyama Prasad road, College road, network of connectivity in Malugram and Ghaniala areas take a turn for worse. Prolong agitations by different student and youth organizations to move the authorities concerned have yielded no result or response. Paradoxically, the ruling party leaders knew well that the roads and highways in deplorable conditions would be a handy issue with the opposition. Unmindful of the issue, they continued to harp on development without giving any concrete assurance about the measures for improving the connectivity in Barak Valley in general.

 Silchar, being the main and busiest centre of this valley, should by now have been a well planned and well administered town. Sadly enough, even after 69 years of Independence, there is nothing to boast of this strategically located town, regarded as the gateway to the north eastern states of Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura. The conditions in the two neighbouring districts of Karimganj and Hailakandi are no different. The tale in both the urban and the rural areas is more or less identical.

 With no scientific draige system and proper outlets for stagnt rain water, most of the roads, particularly those on the low lying areas, get submerged. This not only affects the normal flow of vehicular traffic, but also the pedestrians who in the absence of footpaths are forced to walk through the main road. The problem becomes more acute when the rains continue for days as it is happening now.

 According to the meteorological department, the forecast for the next seven days beginning from Saturday indicate the bad weather conditions will continue. The weeklong forecast shows that it will be cloudy with an overcast sky, heavy showers and thunderstorms and indication of flooding of low lying areas. There is no indication of full sun as the weather conditions will continue to be wet. It will be a week of humidity and warm days. The maximum temperature will fluctuate between the high of 32o Celsius and the low of 21o Celsius.

 With low quality of work in some stretches, the rain waters remain stagted, creating a chaotic condition. This also has its impact on the traffic jam ahead. The movement of all sorts of vehicles becomes slow. Moreover, the spillover or splashing of water from the road from the wheels of vehicles often create nuisance for others. The adverse effect of stagted water tells heavily on the roads. Black-top easily gives way. Cracks and potholes appear on the road. There is no indication of any improvement work by the PWD (R) excepting taking up CC block on the stretch of Mela Road of Malugram area.