Gauhati E hopes to tide over water woes

Guwahati: The problems that plague residents in the urban constituency of Gauhati East are both water-related. Candidates are having a tough time convincing voters that they can solve the problems of drinking water and flooding in the area.
There are 2,13,909 voters in the constituency, of which 1,08,292 are men and 1,05,628 are women. Some of the major areas which fall under Gauhati East are Paltan Bazar, Fancy Bazar, Ulubari, Silpukhuri, Chandmari, Narengi, Uzan Bazar, Kharguli, Bhangagarh and New Guwahati."These areas suffer from similar problems. In the rainy season, life becomes extremely difficult in low-lying areas like Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar and others. There never seems to be a solution," said Dhaneswar Kalita, a resident of Chandmari. The rains are upon the state and will definitely play on the minds of voters.
In the last three years, at least 15 people have been reportedly killed by electrocution during floods or in landslides in these areas. In 2015, the problem seemed to have been solved to some extent after the Kamrup (Metro) district administration, Guwahati Municipal Corporation and other agencies conducted massive drives to clean the water channels and drains across the city.
"With increasing population, the problem will intensify. Even MLAs who have been representing the constituency have hardly given any importance to the issue," said Partha Hazarika, a retired government official residing in Anil Nagar.
The residents face another crisis - that of regular drinking water. "We have a river running by the city, but we don't have proper drinking water," said a voter. Though chief minister Tarun Gogoi had asked the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to complete the JNNURM-assisted Guwahati Water Supply Project before December 2015, it is still in the works.
Under such circumstances, it will be a tough game for the 12 candidates who are in fray, especially frontrunners Bobbeeta Sharma (Congress) and Siddhartha Bhattacharya (BJP).