Staff Reporter
Guwahati: An affidavit was filed by the state government before the Gauhati High Court wherein the efforts proposed for tackling the situation of flooding in Guwahati have been mentioned.
The affidavit was filed before the bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Suman Shyam in the public interest litigation case (PIL/14/2024) filed by the North East Eco Development Society on the problem of urban floods in Guwahati city.
The affidavit, filed on behalf of the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Department of Housing and Urban Affairs, mentioned the efforts proposed for tackling the situation of flooding in Guwahati. The affidavit speaks about the measures that are presently going on and are to be undertaken in the future.
During an earlier hearing, advocate general D. Saikia, on behalf of the state government, submitted before the HC that a tender was floated to rope in a foreign firm to work on a comprehensive plan to rid the city of the menace of artificial floods. A Netherlands-based firm was selected at the end of the tender process, and the state government was slated to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the firm to draw up a plan to rid the city of the flash flood problem; the HC was informed by the advocate general.
The HC had asked for a detailed affidavit with all activities taken up by the different departments mentioned, which are respondents in the case. The affidavit from the government side should also include all measures adopted till now to tackle the problem, the court added.
At that time, the Amicus Curiae in the case, K.N. Choudhury, informed the court that people from several localities plagued by waterlogging have approached him to offer their suggestions. The HC said such suggestions should be welcomed.
During the instant hearing, K.N. Choudhury submitted that he is in receipt of certain suggestions from prominent personalities and would like to place the same on record in the form of a report. The court asked the matter to be listed again on September 13, 2024. On that date, the court said the report may be submitted.
Earlier, the Gauhati HC opined that the time has now come to deal with the problem of water logging or artificial flooding in Guwahati city and that the state is required to take steps to permanently resolve this problem. The court also took into account the traumatic events on August 5, when a two-hour spell of heavy rainfall resulted in the streets of the city getting flooded, which paralysed the lives of the city's residents like never before.
Also Read: Guwahati’s e-waste and flash flood dilemma: A call for sustainable solutions (sentinelassam.com)
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