Staff reporter
Guwahati: In a fiery address at the ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’ event held at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra on Thursday, Assam Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah took a sharp dig at the media for failing to acknowledge Guwahati’s significant progress in national cleanliness rankings. From a dismal 402nd position, the city has risen to an impressive 44th spot in the Swachh Survekshan rankings — a feat Baruah claimed has gone largely unnoticed by the press.
“If it were floods, you would see a media frenzy. But when it’s good news, no one bats an eyelid,” Baruah said with evident sarcasm. “Since no one is willing to blow our trumpet, we’re doing it ourselves.”
Baruah credited the city’s sanitation workers and Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) staff for the transformation. “It would’ve been nice if someone acknowledged the people who made this possible,” he remarked, calling out what he described as the media’s “selective coverage.”
Turning his attention to Guwahati’s recurring flood issues, the Minister accused the public of hypocrisy and blamed widespread illegal encroachments for choking the city’s natural drainage systems.
Baruah lamented the long-standing neglect and unplanned urban development that has rendered natural rivers in the city virtually lifeless. “Even the Bharalu has been strangled. There’s no water flowing into it anymore,” he pointed out.
In a key announcement, the Minister revealed that a comprehensive masterplan is being prepared to address Guwahati’s drainage and flood management challenges.
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