Guwahati experiences a contradiction every year. In the summer, a city on the banks of the Brahmaputra experiences water scarcity, but when the rains come, flooding paralyses the city.
The transportation industry is where this conflict is most evident. Arterial highways turn into rivers, buses stop, and planes are delayed.This yearly breakdown is a recurrent catastrophe that jeopardises economic activity, safety, and movement.
Surprisingly, a little rain also causes traffic congestion. News reports state that on July 22, a mere 7.2 millimetres of rain caused extensive water logging in neighbourhoods such as Rukminigaon and Hatigaon, resulting in the closure of schools and hours of commuting delays. Later same month, a somewhat greater rainfall of 37 mm flooded over half of the city, forcing aircraft to be grounded.
After just 20 minutes of rain, local streets in Rukminigaon were transformed into canals, and residents were reportedly utilising rubber boats to transport their kids to school.
The effects on transport are immediate: almost half of the buses owned by the Assam State Transport Corporation are compelled to stop running on a single day of severe rain, which exacerbates traffic and leaves commuters stranded.
In the meantime, rail services in the Northeast continue to face a persistent threat: according to a 2023 study, Assamese tracks and signalling systems are regularly damaged by flash floods, landslides, and other related hazards, resulting in prolonged service interruptions and increased maintenance costs.
The Lumding Badarpur hill section is especially vulnerable.
This collapse is not entirely explained by the weather. Every year, Guwahati receives between 1,600 and 1,700 mm of rainfall, according to the Assam government.
The frequency of brief, powerful outbursts that overflow the city's shallow drains has increased, reaching 70 to 80 millimetres in an hour.
According to a research on the hydrology and pollution of the Bharalu River Basin, the Bharalu's peak flow is estimated to be around 35 cubic meters per second, which is more than its limited channel can handle.
