Guwahati: An eviction drive to clear encroachments along drains and rivers in Guwahati will be launched soon to make the city flood free, a minister said on Friday.
The drive will be carried out as part of ‘Mission flood- free Guwahati’, under which de-siltation of drains and rivers in the city has already commenced, urban affairs minister Ashok Singhal said.
The Kamrup Metropolitan deputy commissioner has drawn up a list of these sites and eviction will be done within the next 15 days, the minister said.
Illegal constructions at 42 locations along the banks of five river channels, which carry the stormwater of the city to the Brahmaputra river, will be demolished.
Singhal said the width of the river channels, particularly the Bharalu and Bahini, have shrunk over the decades reduced due to rampant encroachment.
“The illegal constructions have to be cleared immediately to widen the channels and increase their water carrying capacity, if we really want to mitigate the problem of flooding in the city,” he added.
The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has already demolished some constructions at a few places on the banks of the Bahini, which flows through the densely populated localities of the city.
It must, however, be added that the Kamrup (M) district administration does not have any record of how many hectares of land of the river channels and other wetland bodies are currently under encroachment in the city.
The drive will be carried out as part of ‘Mission flood- free Guwahati’, under which de-siltation of drains and rivers in the city has already commenced, urban affairs minister Ashok Singhal said.
The Kamrup Metropolitan deputy commissioner has drawn up a list of these sites and eviction will be done within the next 15 days, the minister said.
Illegal constructions at 42 locations along the banks of five river channels, which carry the stormwater of the city to the Brahmaputra river, will be demolished.
Singhal said the width of the river channels, particularly the Bharalu and Bahini, have shrunk over the decades reduced due to rampant encroachment.
“The illegal constructions have to be cleared immediately to widen the channels and increase their water carrying capacity, if we really want to mitigate the problem of flooding in the city,” he added.
The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has already demolished some constructions at a few places on the banks of the Bahini, which flows through the densely populated localities of the city.
It must, however, be added that the Kamrup (M) district administration does not have any record of how many hectares of land of the river channels and other wetland bodies are currently under encroachment in the city.
