A traffic snarl on the Kahilipara main road. Picture by Pranab Kumar Nath

Standing at the Ganesh Mandir point near Ganeshguri Chariali, which is the gateway to Kahilipara, one is dismayed by the sight of the potholed road, the chaotic traffic, heaps of garbage piled on the roadside and, of course, drains that exist only in name.

Kahilipara is a residential as well as commercial area near the capital complex of Dispur. The locality has several state government office complexes and lovely Assam-type houses. Unfortunately, none of the roads or bylanes that lead to these buildings and houses is pleasing to the eye or good for the back. Most are potholed, muddy or slushy tracks made worse by open drains that are most of the time stagnant pools of filthy water. Naturally, therefore, most of the bylanes are waterlogged for most part of the monsoon.

In the absence of garbage bins, the people litter the roads with household waste and several meat shops that line the main road add to the rubbish. Rotting flesh, animal hair and feathers lie in heaps for days on end.

Kahilipara being a hilly area, rain water that flows down from the hills along with red soil add to the people’s woes. Soil accumulates in the kutcha drains and ends up on the roads when the water recedes. The result is that the roads become slushy strips that are hazardous for pedestrians. “I have seen several persons slip and fall on the road,” says Munin Kalita, who owns a shop in the area.

Pravin Boro, a resident of Kahilipara, laments about the poor drainage system in the area. “The drains serve no purpose. Most are clogged, and in some places, they merge with the road. Residents are also to blame for it, for they have left no space for drains in front of their homes. They are only interested in increasing the size of their compounds,” he points out.

Several important state government institutions are at Jatia, another locality under ward number 59. These include the directorates of adult education, technical education, secondary education, elementary education and district primary education, the Government BDS Deaf and Dumb School, the Forensic Science Laboratory and Jyoti Chitraban. During office hours, traffic jams are common on the main Kahilipara road, which is not wide enough for the heavy flow of traffic.

The number of vehicles on the road has increased in the wake of several office complexes being shifted to the area. The condition of the road worsened after the recent spell of showers. What one sees now is a broken stretch of tarmac that passes off for a road.

“Road construction has been going on in the area for a long time now. But one stretch gets damaged as another is constructed. Rain water flowing down from the hills is making things worse,” bemoans Maqbul Hussain, a resident of the locality. Narakasur, adjacent to Kahilipara, is a residential area that is only slightly better. The semi-urban area lacks a proper drainage system, but waterlogging is not a problem because the locality is at a comparatively higher altitude.

Residents feel that the neighbourhood has enough schools, a good postal service and more or less smooth roads. It also provides a scenic view of the hills and vast stretches of paddy fields.

Dakhingaon, another part of the ward, was previously a hill. But it has now developed into a residential area and has several bylanes that connect it to Lokhra and Kahilipara. Both Narakasur and Dakhingaon have several temples, namghars (community prayer halls), mosques and youth clubs. The activities of the clubs keep the locality animated all the time.

One problem that residents of Dakhingaon face is shortage of ground water in the dry season. Hillside waterfalls are the only alternative sources of water.

Basisthapur, another neighbourhood, has several bylanes. Some of these connect the area to the busy Beltola Road. The locality looks different from its adjoining areas because of swank houses and rows of newly constructed multi-storied apartment blocks. The roads are, however, just as bad.

(Ward number 59 includes parts of Kahilipara, Jatia, Narakasur, Dakhingaon and Basisthapur)