Several localities of Guwahati, the premier city of the Northeast, suffered from waterlogging and floods on Friday, a day on which, coincidentally the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation were sworn in. There are many culprits behind Guwahati's water-logging and floods. While the original culprit is the government which had hurriedly brought down the Assam capital in 1972 from Shillong after the creation of the separate state of Meghalaya and set up things in a totally unplanned manner, the other major culprit is the encroacher who has occupied most portions of the city's hills, rivers and wetlands. The citizens are also to be blamed because a sizable section of citizens dumps waste in the drains and natural rivulets of the city. The GMC and the other related government agencies including PWD and Telecom departments also cannot escape the blame. What plans the newly-elected GMC ward commissioners have in mind to resolve or tackle the water-logging problem of Guwahati is yet to be known. But the GMC has, at last, sent a strong signal on Friday by carrying out a major eviction drive in the Silsako Beel and removing several hundred encroachers from the very important water body. Such eviction drives should be carried out on all the water bodies of the city, including on the banks of the Bharalu and Bahini rivers. Any layman will say that a number of influential persons have been sitting on land belonging to the Bharalu, Bahini and other rivers. Large portions of Silsako, Deepar Beel and Bondajan have been also very systematically encroached upon by powerful and influential people and institutions. There are high-rise apartment buildings, educational institutions, hotels and even government institutions and offices of self-styled NGOs on land which actually belongs to the water bodies and wetlands. The government agencies have faltered very seriously in protecting the water bodies and wetlands. It is only in the past few days that a vital portion of the Bondajan wetland has been filled up by the PWD in order to widen a road. This is grossly unacceptable. Even before this, one government agency had used portions of Bondajan wetland as a dumping ground and parking space. Government agencies, particularly those involved in the development of Guwahati, should try to analyse the pros and cons of each and every activity before actually embarking upon even putting up a lamppost, not to speak of widening roads. Roads anyway can be built in an elevated manner. Bondajan is the most crucial outlet for excess water of Silsako Beel to flow out to the Brahmaputra. If Bondajan is blocked or constricted, then not just Silsako Beel but a large area in south-east Guwahati suffers. The new Mayor should make a public announcement against encroachment, and so should the BJP-led government.