By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, March 7: GDD Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today gave the Assam Legislative Assembly (ALA) an honest-to-goodness account on flashfloods in the city. The minister said that 100 per cent solution to the problem of water-logging in the city is not possible.
Sarma was replying a question from Congress legislator Rupjyoti Kumri during the Question Hour in the House today. “The biggest problem is the heavy siltation from that city hills. The silt chokes the drains. We clear the city drains during the winter. However, after some spells of rains for a few days when there’s monsoon, the drains get choked with silt again. And it’s not easy to clear the drains during the monsoon,” Sarma said, and added: “We’ve got a survey on water-logging in the city conducted by outside experts. They’ve failed to give us any tangible solution to the problem. However, we can minimize the intensity of the problem. We’re channelizing the water that comes from the Meghalaya hills towards Jalukbari via Khapara. That’ll give the city a respite.”
Sarma further said: “We’re also making Silsaku Beel free from encroachment. That’ll absorb around 20 per cent of rain water. However, what will we do with the around 30 per cent rain water that comes from the city hills? How can we channelize that water? This water carries silt and chokes the drains in the city. We have no way but to face the wrath of water-logging.”
On the disposal of solid waste and sewerage magement in the city, Sarma said that Guwahati Metropolitan Drinking Water and Sewerage Board is going to implement a sewerage project with JICA funds for a major portion of the city. “The project will be completed by 2022. An amount of Rs 682 lakh has been allocated for this during fiscal 2017-18,” he said, and added: “For better magement of solid waste in the city IIT-Kharagpur has been engaged as the consultant to suggest us the basic design of items required for scientific magement of the dumpsite at Boragaon to prevent environmental pollution. For this, an amount of Rs 48.17 lakh has been allocated through supplementary demands during fiscal 2016-17.”