July 19: Rain or shine, the plight of the GNB Road, one of the lifelines of intra-city commuting, remains unchanged.

In spite of the administration spending crores of rupees on its expansion and drainage, it is always the same picture for those whose who travel through the road regularly.

It is either under knee-deep water when there is a deluge, followed by mud and slush or on a sunny day the mud turns into dust.

“When I went to drop one of my relatives at Guwahati railway station, we were stranded on the GNB Road for more than an hour because of waterlogging. While returning, the water had receded but the road looked like a paddy field with slush and mud all around. Driving under such conditions is difficult as well as risky,” Anirban Hazarika, a government employee, said.

For Nupur Baruah, a resident of Chandmari, it is dust that makes the lives of those living along the GNB Road difficult after the sun comes out, more than the waterlogging and slush.

The sight of pedestrians with handkerchiefs pressed to their noses and two-wheeler riders with their faces covered, struggling to keep the red dust away, is a common sight.

M.M. Deka, the principal-cum-chief superintendent of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, who often takes the road to work, said such dust is harmful to health and can cause problems for people suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases. He said the dust could also result in infections and skin diseases.

The authorities are always ready to pass the buck. They pin the blame on the encroachment and destruction of hills near the GNB Road as the prime reason for both waterlogging and dust.

A senior official of the Kamrup (metro) district administration said unless the destruction of nearby hills of GNB Road is stopped, there would be no respite from such situations.

He said heavy rain brings down a huge quantum of soil to GNB Road from the nearby hills.

“Though the PWD and the GMC are trying to clear slush and mud from the road, their efforts have failed to yield results. Soil simply piles up on the road after a heavy shower.”

GMC commissioner Rajesh Prasad recently asked the soil conservation department to take measures to trap the soil in Nabagraha so that it does not roll down to GNB Road.