Assam urges SC to probe Meghalaya hill degradation causing floods in Guwahati
Silchar: The Assam government has appealed to the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to investigate the increasing deforestations and constructions on the hills of Meghalaya which are affecting the flood situation in Guwahati, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.
Sarma in the past had blamed University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) for illegal deforestation and constructions on the hills of Meghalaya adjacent to Guwahati, claiming that these constructions were causing floods in Guwahati.
On Wednesday, he said that two more massive buildings are being constructed near the USTM in Meghalaya and this has triggered him to knock on the doors of the Supreme Court.
While addressing a press conference in Golaghat's Dergaon following a cabinet meeting, Sarma said, 'While coming here yesterday, I noticed two more massive constructions near USTM. If this continues, Guwahati will become an ocean during the rainy seasons.'
He said that the state government has formally appealed to the Supreme Court's empowered committee to visit the hills of Meghalaya to examine the matter.
'We received a positive response from the empowered committee and in the next two or three months, they are expected to visit here,' Sarma said.
The Guwahati city has been struggling with waterlogging due to heavy rainfall for the past 4–5 days and several areas have been identified as landslide-prone by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
The city witnessed waterlogging and remained flooded for hours on Tuesday and Wednesday after continuous rainfall for several hours, leading to heavy traffic congestion, mudslides and some schools remaining shut.
As per rainfall data recorded by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday, several locations in and around Guwahati received substantial downpours of 110 mm to 115 mm.
IMD Guwahati has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall over isolated places in Assam and nearby areas for the next two to three days, which may go up to 200 mm.
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