Guwahati, Nov. 8 -- Written by Kishor Kumar Kalita and Mahesh Deka

Every monsoon, the rain turns Guwahati's roads into rivers, neighbourhoods into waterlogged islands and everyday journeys into ordeals. But the city's recurring floods are no longer confined to the rainy season or a handful of vulnerable localities. Even a brief downpour can bring large parts of the metropolitan area to a standstill, inundating homes, disrupting businesses and, at times, claiming lives.

Beneath this growing urban crisis lies a deeper story of a city that has gradually buried its wetlands, choked its natural waterways and expanded across its geographical limitations. Decades of unplanned urbanisation have transformed Guwahati's natural drainage landscape ...