GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday blamed the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) as the root cause of unprecedented flash floods in Guwahati.
The chief minister claimed that the USTM blocks the inflow of water from the Meghalaya hills to Guwahati.
The University is situated on the Assam-Meghalaya border at Baridua, 9th mile in Meghalayas’ Ri-Bhoi District.
CM Sarma said he has planned to discuss this issue with his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma to find a solution.
“I will discuss the issue with Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma. The damage is already done. Now the only way is to divert the inflow of water to Deepor Beel or Silsaku Beel,” he stated.
“USTM has dug up a big hill, taking advantage of their geographic location in Guwahati and Meghalaya. If somebody visits USTM, they will see that more than 4-5 hills of Meghalaya have been cut to construct the university,” CM Sarma said.
“At the time of setting up the university, the Assam government should have taken up the issue with the Meghalaya government. They should have permitted it to be constructed at a farther location. The Delhi Public School was also constructed at the same place,” the Chief Minister said.
Previously, water flowed gradually from the Meghalaya hills. However, since the establishment of USTM, there has been an unprecedented increase in water flow to the plains of Guwahati, he said.
Sarma stated that Guwahati was inundated as it received 25% of the season’s rainfall in one day on Monday.
He emphasized that the city’s existing drainage system is inadequate to handle such an amount of water. “We face such a situation once or twice every year. During these days, the situation goes out of our control,” he added.
Sarma advocated for enhanced infrastructure and strategic planning to mitigate the impact of heavy rainfall and prevent future flooding in the city.
