CM discusses ways to mitigate water logging in Guwahati

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today convened a high level meeting with senior officials of the concerned departments to discuss water logging and flash floods in different parts of Guwahati and the ways to tackle the problem.
The Chief Minister instructed the officials of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and concerned departments to adopt both short and short term measures to tackle the water logging problem and flash floods in different parts of the capital city.
"Timely cleaning of drains, proper solid waste management, clearing channels connected to the wetlands and their preservation coupled with cleaning and dredging of small rivulets that carry the waste water from the city is going to yield lasting results in solving the problem," Gogoi said.

Asking the officials to take immediate steps for dredging of the river beds of Bharalu and Bondajan for smooth discharge of water during the monsoons, he called for expeditious steps to clear the Deepor beel (huge natural water body) from encroachment to ensure unhindered flow of water from the city to the wetland.
The officials of GMC and the Kamrup metropolitan district administration were also directed to clear the city pavements and roadside from vendors that add to the piling of garbage and causing obstruction to the flow of water into the drains.
At the same time Gogoi underscored the need to implement the Street Vendors Act 2014 to protect the livelihood of urban street vendors and to regulate street vending activities in public areas.

Desiltation of the choked drains and clearing the waste materials at once instead of heaping them on the roads that subsequently find their way back into the drains prominently figured in the meeting.
The meeting discussed measures to be taken in the landslide prone areas and ways to lessen the extent of damage caused by incessant rainfall through massive plantation drives to prevent erosion and clogging of drains due to heavy deposit of silt.