Flyovers and Drains

Four days after citizens of Guwahati had witnessed the worst-ever urban floods in living memory, the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs of the state government had constituted a technical committee to examine the increasing flood problem in detail, with the Kamrup (Metro) district administration inviting suggestions from the citizens on how to solve the problem. While the deadline for submission of suggestions ended on August 24, it is presumed that the authorities have received quite a number of suggestions from the citizens, which in turn will definitely help the technical committee understand the problems better and thus find lasting solutions. It is, however, not known what the technical committee itself has done during the fortnight following its constitution. It is also not known whether the members of the technical committee had visited the worst-affected localities and undertaken a thorough inspection of the particular spots or areas where the roots of the increasing urban flood problem lie. As has been reported in the media and also emphasized by the state chief minister, the indiscriminate destruction of hills inside Meghalaya bordering Khanapara, is one of the major reasons behind the rapidly aggravating flood situation. Whether the technical committee has visited those areas lying inside Meghalaya to the west of the highway between Khanapara and Jorabat is not known yet. As has been reported, the government has already embarked on an urgent project of construction of a new flyover between Downtown and Six Mile, particularly keeping in view the flooding of the GS Road there. While that is a welcome move, the removal of silt from the clogged drains and water channels in order to ensure that rainwater continues to flow without causing floods is also an equally urgent requirement.