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Crores spent, but no respite from artificial floods

By MANASH PRATIM DUTTA

GUWAHATI, May 21 - Even though crores of rupees have been spent to mitigate the problem of artificial floods in Guwahati city, the citizens are yet to get complete relief from the menace.

This was revealed by the Water Resources Department and the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), two major departments working to mitigate the waterlogging problem, in reply to an application filed under Right to Information Act (RTI) by this correspondent.

According to the RTI reply, the two entities had spent altogether Rs 6,238.19 lakh till January this year on measures to mitigate the problem of artificial flood. Between them, the Water Resource Department spent Rs 189.5 lakh and the GMDA spent Rs 6048.69 lakh.

The Water Resource Department stated that it had spent Rs 40 lakh in dewatering of stormwater of Guwahati city with ten high discharge water pumps at Bharalumukh pumping station, Rs 20 lakh in dewatering of stormwater with eight high discharge water pumps at Mora Bharalu, Lakhimijan and Bondajan, Rs 9.50 lakh in dewatering of stormwater with four pumps at Pandu-Sadilapur pumping station, Rs 50 lakh in dewatering of �logged water or stormwater� from low lying areas of the city with ten trolley-mounted pumps and three 10/12 HP pumps, Rs 45 lakh in maintenance and periodical cleaning of the Sarusala Beel for free flow of stormwater of Guwahati city and Rs 25 lakh in repair and maintenance of all sluice gates on both banks of the Bharalu, Mora Bharalu, etc.

The GMDA stated that it had spent Rs 125 lakh in development of the Silsako Beel to increase its stormwater retention capacity with the help of a fleet of machinery, Rs 36.76 lakh in desiltation and cleaning of the NBCC drain, Rs 36 lakh in desiltation and cleaning of the Bondajan Beel by deploying a fleet of machinery, Rs 97.77 lakh in dredging for desiltation and cleaning of the Pamohi channel and the national highway drain with the help of a fleet of machinery, Rs 3,203.02 lakh in construction of the Noonmati basin drain, Rs 53.79 lakh in raising of existing guard wall along both sides of the Bharalu river from Jonali to GS Road, Rs 1,969.86 lakh in extension of the Noonmati basin drain up to ASIDC point from Bamunimaidam, Rs 228.32 lakh in construction of concrete slit trap with silt removal arrangement as a pilot project on the Bharalu near the ASTC central depot, Rs 199.83 lakh in construction of RCC box stormwater drain from FA Ahmed Road side drain to the Silsako Beel with cross-culvert and Rs 98.34 lakh in construction of box drain for straightening of the Juripar channel and construction of the link drain.

It is noteworthy that to pump out the stormwater, at present altogether 12 water pumping stations with different discharge capacities are working in different parts of the city.

According to official data, at Bharalumukh pumping station altogether ten electrically-driven water pumps with total discharge capacity of 13,668 litres of water per sec and at Mora Bharalu pumping station four electrically-driven water pumps with total discharge capacity of 4,000 litres of water per sec are working at present under the Mechanical Division of the Water Resource Department.

The Lakhimijan pumping station has two water pumps with total discharge capacity of 3,400 litres per second, the Bondajan pumping station has two pumps with total discharge capacity of 3,444 litres of water per second, the Pandu pumping station has two water pumps with total discharge capacity of 2,000 litres per second, the Sadilapur pumping station has two water pumps with total discharge capacity of 2,000 litres per second, the Anil Nagar pumping station has four water pumps with total discharge capacity of 1,400 litres per second, the Lachit Nagar pumping station has four water pumps with total discharge capacity of 784 litres of water per second. The Lachit Lane pumping station has one water pump with total discharge capacity of 150 litres per second, and the Tarun Nagar pumping station has four water pumps with total discharge capacity of 709 litres per second. There is another pumping station at Tarun Nagar which has three water pumps with total discharge capacity of 434 litres of water per second and the Jonali bridge pumping station has one water pump with total discharge capacity of 350 litres per second.

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