Water logging: Gogoi warns encroachers

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today warned that encroachment of government land on the hills and water bodies here would not be allowed and those living there would be firmly dealt with to prevent water logging.
"Government land on the hills, water bodies and Bharalu river area are being encroached upon causing water logging," Gogoi told reporters.
"We want to clear the encroachments. We will even undertake rehabilitation measures for the evacuated people," he said.
"Today I held a meeting with senior officers to analyse why the flood-like situation occurred here yesterday. I told them to deal firmly with encroachers of Bharalu for rain water to drain out into the river," he said.

Seeking cooperation from people for evacuation to prevent water logging, Gogoi said, "I told the officers to break the blockages of the drains in the encroached areas".
"If necessary, we will amend laws for protecting government land and water bodies so that there is no water logging like yesterday. We will have a hill and water bodies protection force", Gogoi said.

In the identified 376 landslide vulnerable areas in Guwahati, he said, "we have been warning the people there to leave those places. But if they don't we will have to evacuate them. We are taking this very seriously".
Gogoi said he asked the officers to find out and analyse the causes of yesterday's water logging." The drainage system may not be correct or functioning well."

The meeting also sought to find out immediate and long term steps to prevent a situation like yesterday arising again.
To a query if government personnel were involved in facilitating the encroachment, Gogoi said, "I do not deny their involvement".