Several low-lying areas in Guwahati are flooded due to torrential rain
Incessant rains since morning have thrown life out of gear in Guwahati as most part of the city was water-logged prompting the administration to order closure of all educational institutions.
The rain-fed Bharalu river flowing through the city submerged Anil Nagar, Tarun Nagar, National Highway 37, arterial GS and GNB roads, officials said.
While many vehicles remained stranded on water-logged streets, others went off the roads causing a lot of difficulty for office goers and school children.
In view of the situation, the Kamrup (Metropolitan) district administration encompassing Guwahati ordered closure of all government and private educational institutions.
A district administration press release said the institutions had been asked to take all measures for safe return of the students.
The administration also urged the people residing in the landslide-prone hilly areas of the city to move to safer places, the release said.
Taking stock of the flash flood situation in Guwahati, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has directed the district administration to take all measures to reach out to the people in distress.
Control rooms are being set up at the offices of the Kamrup (Metropolitan) district administration, the Chief Minister's Secretariat and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation to monitor and coordinate the rescue and relief operations round the clock, said a spokesman of the chief minister's office (CMO).
For assistance the phone numbers are 0361-2733052; 0361-2237042 and 8811007000, the spokesman said.
Forecasting no letup in the rainfall in the next two days, the MeT office in Guwahati said the south-west monsoon has been active over Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya since yesterday.
Light to heavy rain have occurred in several areas in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura since yesterday, it said.
The well-marked low pressure area in the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal areas of the gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, north coastal Andhra Pradesh and west central Bay of Bengal lay over Odisha and adjoining Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand last evening, it said.
The low pressure now lies over the gangetic West Bengal and adjoining Jharkhand and Odisha, the weather office said, adding, the western end of the axis of monsoon trough at mean sea level runs close to the foot hills of the Himalayas and the eastern part of it passes through Bareilly, Varanasi, Ranchi, centre of well-marked low pressure area and thence southeastwards to the central Bay of Bengal.
Under the impact, heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy falls would occur at isolated places in Assam and Meghalaya and heavy to very heavy rain in Arunachal Pradesh today, the weatherman said.
The local forecast for Guwahati and its neighbourhood until tomorrow is cloudy sky and continuous light to moderate rain with heavy to very heavy rain at times.