Two days of rain trigger severe artificial flooding in Assam's Tinsukia, residents blame poor drainage infrastructure

Continuous rainfall over the past two days has led to severe artificial flooding across Assam's Tinsukia district, inundating major roads, residential areas and public spaces, while disrupting normal life in several parts of the town.

The waterlogging has affected localities including Nakharai, No. 1 Balupara, Barguri, Jariguri, Kakratoli and Hengalguri, where roads, residential compounds and houses have been submerged. The flooding has caused widespread inconvenience to residents, many of whom say the problem has become an annual occurrence during the monsoon.

Several key areas of the town, including Tinsukia Police Station Chariali, Women's College, New Pukhuri, Ward No. 4, Kochujan Tea Estate and Bordoloi Nagar, remained severely affected as rising water levels disrupted transportation and day-to-day activities.

Residents have attributed the recurring artificial flooding to inadequate and poor-quality drainage infrastructure, alleging that substandard drains and culverts have failed to cope with even moderate rainfall. They claimed that repeated representations and protest programmes seeking a permanent solution have yielded little response from the administration and the concerned departments.

Locals further alleged that the flooding has exposed deficiencies in the district's civic infrastructure, asserting that two days of continuous rainfall were enough to overwhelm the drainage system and leave large parts of the town waterlogged.

The affected residents have urged the state government and district authorities to take immediate and long-term measures to address the recurring problem of artificial flooding, strengthen urban drainage infrastructure and provide necessary relief to those impacted.