Assam: Dibrugarh town protection drain awaits completion for six years

A Correspondent

DIBRUGARH: The Dibrugarh town protection (DTP) drain, the major drain of Dibrugarh town, is yet to be reconstructed. The work on the 9.5-km drain has been stalled since November 2017 after the Madrid-based Corsan Corvian Construction Company left the project. Due to this, the town's residents have been dealing with waterlogging issues during the monsoon season for the past few years.

The drain has been under the encroachment of people who have blocked it in many places. During the monsoon, the drain cannot flush out rainwater from the town. The district administration has done nothing in that regard as well as in getting the work restarted, despite repeated reminders from the conscious citizens and organisations of the town.

The Spanish company was awarded a Rs. 169.89-crore contract in February 2014 under the Assam Urban Infrastructure Investment Programme. However, in November 2017, the construction company left the project after its parent organization filed for bankruptcy. To date, it is not clear why the Spanish company left the project midway.

According to allegations, a strong lobby forced the company to leave their work midway. The residents of Dibrugarh are worried due to the non-completion of the drain.

"This is the major drain of Dibrugarh, but the administration has failed to reconstruct it. During every monsoon, the residents of Dibrugarh have to bear the brunt of the poor drainage system. Every citizen of Dibrugarh wants to know why the DTP drain work has not been done," said Ranjan Das, a senior citizen of the town.

Das added, "Garbage is dumped in the DTP drain, and during the rainy season the drain gets clogged and it overflows in some areas. Recently, we have seen the Dibrugarh Municipal  Board (DMB) using super sucker machines to clean the DTP drain in some areas. It was a laudable step by the DMB, but it should be done regularly to clean the drain."

During the Lok Sabha poll, the issue of DTP drain emerged as one of the major issues. But after the elections were over, no political party took steps to solve the problem of the drain. This time also, the DTP drain is likely to be one of the major issues for Dibrugarh. Only time will tell how the political parties use this issue for the next few months.

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