Cyclone Remal unleashes havoc in Guwahati, throws normal life out of gear

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMay 28, 2024

Severe cyclonic storm “Remal” has left a trail of destruction behind, throwing normal life out of gear in Guwahati city. The cyclone brought heavy rains, flooded streets, uprooted trees and knocked down electric poles in various parts of the city.

A 20-year-old youth Mintu Talukdar died at Nabajyoti Nagar in the Panjabari area of the city after a tree fell on their house on Tuesday night.

According to a senior official of the state forest department, a total of 34 big trees were uprooted and fell on the main roads blocking all vehicular traffic in the city.

The power supply that was disrupted since 1.30 am, was restored only after 5.30 pm on Tuesday. There was no mobile or internet network in many places of the city. The water supply system was also affected due to the storm. Most of the roads were either waterlogged or closed due to the uprooting of trees.

Electricity across Guwahati was fluctuating initially on the night of May 27, but later after 1.30 am, it went out completely.

In many parts electric poles were knocked down and the power supply is yet to be restored.

Surprisingly, there was no response from the Assam Power Distribution Co Ltd (APDCL). “The customer care numbers are useless. No one is picking up. We have been without electricity since last night and can’t even reach the APDCL people,” said a resident of Kachari Basti area of the city.

The electric poles were uprooted in many places of Beltola, Chatribari, Bilpar and the electric lines coming down to the road.

Earlier this morning, a senior official of APDCL told the media: “We are trying to restore the power connectivity, but because of the wind, even after restoring, the connection gets impacted.”

“All major lines are up and gradually power connectivity will be restored in all areas of Guwahati. However, an uninterrupted power supply will be possible only after the storm stops,” the official said.

Road communication was also disrupted due to uprooted trees in many places like Uzan Bazar, Bharalumukh, Bamunimaidam, Satgaon, and Narengi. It took more than 10 hours for the forest and PWD personnel to Remove uprooted trees and clear roads for traffic.

In Maligaon, a huge hoarding mounted atop a three-story building collapsed on Tuesday with a part of it hanging precariously over an adjacent building.

The incident happened at around 5 am near the Kamakhya Gate when strong winds brought down the 30 feet x 30 feet hoarding; only one post of the hoarding was preventing it from collapsing on the adjacent building

GMC officials said that the hoarding was authorised and Delta Publicity had taken permission from GMC.

The emergency services and GMC are trying to remove the structure before it falls on the building which would be risky. A hydraulic crane was also called in to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, the Inland Water Transport (IWT) department has suspended ferry service over the Brahmaputra in the Kamrup Metro district considering Tuesday’s situation.