Staff Reporter
A day after the State’s commercial hub Dimapur was inundated by heavy rainfall, thereby exposing the city’s pathetic drainage system once again, the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) sanitation team began cleaning the clogged drains at various locations like Walford Colony, Tata parking, Rail Bazaar, etc.
DMC administrator Albert Ezung appealed to the public not to throw any garbage in the drains, while requesting the GBs and chairman to sensitise people about the after-effects of such irresponsible conduct, as witnessed during the day after the downpour.
DMC also warned of penalising individuals found throwing any garbage into the drains.
After Monday’s downpour, normal life was disrupted as many low-lying areas were hit by waterlogging, forcing the affected people to leave their flooded houses.
The worst affected areas were those in the vicinity of the railway station like Railway Bazaar, Chatteswary Colony, Manipuri Colony and West Yard Colony where water level was waist-deep.
Speaking to Nagaland Post, Railway Bazar GB Nading Haining alleged that water logging was a regular phenomenon in the area even during short spells of rain. He said the residents in the area had been facing untold hardships every year due to waterlogging and had even been raising the issue, but to no avail.
He said help had been sought from DMC to clear the clogged drains in the area. He held poor drainage system and blockage as the main reasons for water remaining stagnant in the area, thereby leading to a spike in vector-borne diseases.
Haining recalled that five colonies had seven years back launched an agitation by blocking railway services, demanding the railway authorities to clear the clogged drains following inundation in the area even after a light shower. But, even after so much hue and cry, he regretted that the situation did not improve and remained an annual phenomenon.