Drain construction in unplanned manner a waste of public money

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Reconstruction of drains in Guwahati has become a pre-monsoon exercise that is carried out year after year. But this has hardly solved the city’s menacing waterlogging problem because the drainage reconstruction work is carried out in an unplanned and unscientific manner. Every year, a lot of money is spent on reconstruction of drains and de-silting the drains but when this fails to yield the desired results, public money goes ‘down the drain’.

Gradient of drains is important as it determines the flow of water through the drains. But drains are being reconstructed without proper planning. Local people have said that no engineer or technical expert is there to oversee the drain reconstruction work and de-silting of drains going on in different parts of Guwahati. The workers engaged in these works are doing their job without any technical supervision. There are no engineers on the ground to see what materials are being used or in what proportion the sand, cement, and water are being mixed by the workers.

Experts said that cleaning and reconstruction of drains are usually done just before the onset of monsoon. By the time monsoon arrives, the work remains half done. As a result, there is waterlogging after incessant rains. A case in point is the flooding witnessed in many areas of the city two days ago after a heavy downpour.

A retired engineer said, “Because of erratic rainfall due to climate change, we have to prepare for sudden heavy rainfall. We experienced this last year when there was unexpected heavy rainfall in April.”

He further said that drain de-silting and reconstruction work is carried out by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the Public Works Department (PWD). There is neither any coordination nor a vision for a proper stormwater drainage system in the city. “Some drains that were reconstructed last year have been increased in height this year. In some cases, the height of the roads has also been increased along with the height of the drains. As a result, the low-lying bye-lanes are getting flooded. There is no scientific planning. Unless there is a master plan for where the city’s rainwater will be released, de-siltation will not solve the problem of artificial flooding,” he said.

Sources said that in 2008, a company had prepared a detailed project report (DPR) on Guwahati’s stormwater drainage system. However, this project was not implemented.

Drains should be properly connected to the river channels which drain the excess water into the Brahmaputra. But the drains are constructed and reconstructed in an unplanned manner. In many places, drains are not properly covered after de-silting work is completed. The de-silted materials remain dumped on the sides of roads for many days, causing inconvenience for people. On many occasions, construction work of drains is obstructed due to electricity poles. Drains are constructed till the poles and then the work is left half-done. Do these half-constructed drains serve any purpose?

With rapid urbanization, the city is expanding and new residential areas are coming up. Unfortunately, here too, buildings are being constructed without properly adhering to building construction rules. Without a planned stormwater drainage system, these new residential areas will also face the same problem of artificial flooding.

The picture is the same in other towns and urban areas of Assam. Experts have opined that unless due importance is given to the gradient of the drains and unless the government comes up with a master plan for the drainage system, the problem of urban flooding will continue to persist.

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