Guwahati: Urban Minister Assam Ashok Singhal on Thursday said it would take at least four more years for the residents of Guwahati to hide from the lasting flood.
Talking to the media here in Guwahati after placing a garden foundation stone, the minister said, “Floods in the city can be completed in a year.
It will take at least three to four years.” He added that his department had targeted to resolve at least 25-30% of the work needed to solve flood problems in the city.
“If we can complete 25-30% this year, we will cover 25% again the following year,” he added.
Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) on Monday began to remove five river channels and 575 waterways in the city with the aim of making them quite able to carry storm water during the rainy season.
The Civic body carries out a de-siltation process of more than 408 km with the expenditure of almost Rs 70 Crore.
Commissioner GMC Devasish Sharma said the budget allocated for the process of de-siltation this year was around 50% of the amount used by the previous GMC.
“Previously, the GMC was used to outsource work to contractors.
This year, GMC has begun to work de-condition with self-energy and advanced machines that have been obtained for that purpose.
So we have reduced the budget,” he added.
GMC is used to spend around Rs 140 Crore to clean and design waterways every year due to lack of permanent solutions.
Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, the Department of Public Works and Metropolitan Drinking Water Guwahati and the Sewerage Board are also responsible along with GMC to make the city free of flooding.
Gautthati University Geography Professor Abani Kumar Bhagawati, who has studied the city’s flood problems, said there was no other way in addition to reviving drainage channels and waterways to reduce flood problems.
He also emphasizes the needs of proper and scientific small channel networks, mastering channels and channels to deal with this problem.