SHILLONG: The torrential rain on Friday night proved disastrous in several localities, the worst being Jumar Lane in Laban.
Rainwater started gushing into Jumar Lane from 1 am on Saturday and by 3am, the entire stretch was flooded, said several residents many of whom were awake since Friday night. One house was badly affected as water came into the premises flooding four rooms.
The house owner, Mehjabeen Ahmed, said she heard the sound of water at night and when she came out, she saw the compound flooding. “There are eight tenants in my building and those on the ground floor had to shift upstairs. All their belongings were damaged,” she added.
The receding water left muck and garbage behind and Ahmed’s garden was also damaged. The heavy flow of water damaged a portion of the lane and drifted away three local taxis, which were partially damaged too.
Ahmed made frantic calls to the state disaster management unit, the local MLA Sanbor Shullai and the police in the morning but in vain. Though disaster management team came later, it could not help and informed Ahmed that they would come back with the municipality team. The MLA, however, did not come.
Locals were still trying to clear the debris and garbage brought down by the gushing water so that it could flow unhindered.
“We cannot even go out of the locality. It is in a mess,” said Ujwal Agarwal, a resident.
Residents said this was the first time that the locality was flooded so badly because of a “blocked drain”. On further questioning and inspection of the vicinity, The Shillong Times found that the disaster was manmade. Ahmed explained how.
“It is a streamlet (adjacent to my house) and authorities are trying to make a road over it. How can the MLA do this and how did the government give permission? No engineer or expert was involved when a slab was put,” she said pointing at the half-constructed “road”, which was nothing but a concrete slab. Logs were also stuck in the streamlet.
There is a plan to construct a motorable road but the space is too narrow even for a small car. “It is encroaching on my land too. My boundary wall can also collapse. There are children in my house. I had complained earlier but nothing happened,” Ahmed said.
Several letters were sent by Ahmed to the authorities since 2018 but there was no response.
“I don’t want to blame anyone other than the government. There was an inspection last October from the DC’s office after a complaint but nothing happened later”, she said.
Rangbah Dong of Jumar Lane, Rangdap Kharshiing said the slabs were put under MLA scheme and the Dorbar has no say. “But if people are facing inconvenience then we will decide accordingly.”
He informed that the disaster management and municipal teams which came later in the evening could not do much and that they would come back on Sunday. “The drainage system is completely clogged,” he added.
In another incident, in Bishnupur, a part of the boundary wall of Sankardev College collapsed around 3am. The work to remove debris started at 10 am.
