Encroachment of drains: 1.54 lakh Dibrugarh residents at risk

A Correspondent

DIBRUGARH: The encroachment on drains has posed a serious threat to 1.54 lakh residents in Dibrugarh. Every year the city has to bear the brunt of flash floods during the rainy season.

The Sentinel has exposed heavy encroachment on Topajan drain, a sub-drain to the Dibrugarh Town Protection (DTP) drain built during the British era. The 10-foot-wide drain has now constricted to two feet in certain stretches. 

The Topajan drain was built to flush out sewage from the residential buildings, but due to encroachment and blockages, the drain cannot flush out water, leading to artificial floods in the Fancy Goli area of the city.

Let alone Topajan drain, many drains in Dibrugarh have gone under encroachment. The Dibrugarh Town Protection (DTP) drain has been encroached upon at many stretches. People throw garbage in the drain, leading to clogging and artificial floods.

There are allegations that a person, Premchand Chand Shah of the Fancy Goli area, encroached upon the Topajan drain by constructing houses over it. What is seen is that the drain goes under Premchand Shah’s house and disappears.

The cadastral map of the Mariwari Patty ward clearly shows the Topajan drain. However, on the ground, encroachers have gobbled up the drain.

Sources said the Harijan colony does not follow any rule and constructs houses in every nook and corner, creating problems for movement during disaster.

A senior citizen of Dibrugarh said, “Every year, Dibrugarh grapples with waterlogging during the rainy season. The clogged drains with constricted stretches are not good enough to flush out the rainwater. The DTP, which is the major drain in Dibrugarh, fails to flush out the rainwater from the city areas, resulting in inundation. The Dibrugarh Municipal Corporation (DMC) has purchased super-suckers and other machines to clear the drain, but to no avail. Who is to be blamed for such a situation?”

Speaking to The Sentinel, Dibrugarh Mayor Dr Saikat Patra said, “Encroachment on drains has been a major issue in Dibrugarh. We are taking a slew of measures to clear the encroached areas. Recently, we have cleared some areas from encroachment. But people dump garbage on the drains despite repeated requests.”

“The encroachment upon drains can’t be solved in one day. It’s a big headache for us because most of the stretches of drains have been encroached upon, and buildings have been erected on them. But we think positive. We’ll move forward according to the law,” Patra added.

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