GUWAHATI, July 30 � The city water bodies are under serious threat. This is a very dangerous sign for a city, which was endowed by nature with an excellent geographical system, in which the wetlands and other water bodies occupied a major place. These water bodies were the natural stormwater reservoirs and channels of the city, said several of the Water Resources engineers here.
Expressing serious concern over the diminishing water bodies of the city, these engineers maintain that without the wetlands, the city is bound to face the threat of flash flood in the event of a smart shower.
Giving a list of the city wetlands in peril, these engineers said the wetland in front of the Gauhati Medical College (GMC), the Rupnagar-Shrimantapur wetland by the side of the now closed Assam Government Construction Company (AGCC), the wetland behind the Agricultural Department�s Ulubari campus, the Birubari wetland are gradually eliminated. The wetlands near the B Borooah Cancer Institute and near the Guwahati ITI are also being eliminated.
The expansion of the Gauhati Commerce College and the growth of the human habitats near it have eliminated the wetland that once served the RG Baruah Road-Bhaskar Nagar area as a natural stormwater reservoir.
While the litigation on the allotment of a plot of land on the Sarusola Beel is on, a part of the Barsola Beel is still under encroachment.
The Silsako and the Bonda wetlands are under threat because of the illegal allotments granted on the plots of land belonging to these wetlands.
The Basistha channel is provided with a narrow culvert to cross the National Highway -37 and that culvert is also blocked by dumping garbage. The Water Resources Department has provided a pilot channel to connect the Basistha channel with the Mora Bharalu upstream of the Balaji temple.
But the Mora Bharalu channel is also encroached upon by a builder near the DPS Road on the western side of the DPS Road and its eastern side is narrowed by another party.
The Chandmari drain running parallel to the rail track on the northern side has its outfall at the Barsola Wetland. Its channel has been encroached upon by a party on the Brahmachari Road by erecting a huge and high boundary wall right inside the channel of the drain.
The Pub Sarania inundation is also linked with the elimination of the Gandhibasti wetland, which was located between the Railway track and the Gandhibasti Road. The inundation of the Gandhibasti area is directly linked with the elimination of this wetland.
Elimination of the Anil Nagar marshy land and the Lachit Nagar marshy land has links with the inundation of these areas, said the engineers.
