Heavy rain floods Guwahati; major roads, residential areas under water

Guwahati, Aug 27 (PTI) A three-hour spell of heavy rainfall on Wednesday evening brought life to a standstill in Assam’s capital, flooding roads and homes and triggering massive traffic jams across the city.

Flooding was reported from Zoo Road, RG Baruah Road, GS Road, Nabin Nagar, Anil Nagar, Hatigaon, Gita Nagar, Panjabari, Jorabat, Jatia, VIP Road, Rajgarh Road, Rukmini Gaon and Survey, among others.

Massive traffic jams were reported from almost all roads with vehicles returning from offices stranded due to flooded roads. Ambulances were stuck for hours with patients facing severe hardship.

There have been reports of power cuts in some areas, officials said.

City authorities are closely monitoring the situation and emergency response systems are being kept on stand-by, an official said.

The crisis has reignited concerns flagged by Gauhati High Court, which in August 2023 had pulled up the state government for failing to address the city's chronic waterlogging.

The HC had asked the state government to submit a plan to mitigate the crisis.

Stating that the Assam government was "not serious" in solving perennial waterlogging problems in the state capital, the Gauhati HC had come down heavily on it for not responding to its repeated notice and slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 each to four departments concerned. PTI TR TR MNB