TURA: The entire Garo Hills region is being lashed by incessant rain since Thursday causing worry about occurrence of flood in the plain areas of West and South West Garo Hills districts while the hilly areas are under threat of landslides.
The heavy monsoon downpour which began 36 hours ago has led to small landslips in some parts of Tura town and the biggest worry is the likelihood of flooding in the vulnerable plain areas of Phulbari, Rajabala, Chibinang, Bhaitbari and even the low lying areas of Williamnagar town and the national highway 51 in Rari-Gokul-Bajengdoba region which had witnessed devastating floods that claimed several lives three years ago.
Government officials and legislators from the plain belt have informed that there is concern due to the continuing rainfall although no floods have taken place till Friday evening.
“Due to the continuing downpour people are staying alert in the entire plain belt and government officials are monitoring the situation. If the rain continue through Friday night we may witness flooding,” informed a legislator from the region while speaking to The Shillong Times.
The Jinjiram river that flows through Phulbari, Hallidayganj, Rajabala has already merged with the Bramaputra river and continued rainfall could result in flooding of Hallidayganj town and its nearby areas, warn officials.
There is also apprehension about flood waters from the Ganol river inundating the low lying areas of Garobadha and Mukdangra, a crucial part of the Tura-Ampati/Selsella road. The Mukdangra stretch have many a times experienced flooding during heavy rains leading to the disruption of road communication.
The district Disaster Management Authority has already issued a weather warning and first responders on the ground have been alerted about possible landslides and flooding.
Already, in Tura the continuing rains have begun to show its impact with boulders, stones and soft earth giving way. Landslips have taken place in Ringrey, Hawakhana and other hilly areas of the town but no major damage has been reported, so far.