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Eviction drives at Jorabat, Khanapara next week

By CITY CORRESPONDENT

GUWAHATI, Aug 26 - The Kamrup (Metro) district administration has planned to carry out an eviction drive in the Jorabat and Khanapara areas by next week. The district administration has taken the decision after a major waterlogging in these areas on Friday, caused by water flowing down from the hills on the Meghalaya side.

�The natural water channels in the Jorabat and Khanapara areas are facing rampant encroachment. It is one of the reasons due to which water flowing down from the Meghalaya side enters Guwahati so easily. To tackle the problem, we will have to carry out the eviction drive,� Deputy Commissioner Virendra Mittal told The Assam Tribune today.

On August 7, the district administration also formed a task force for a detailed survey of the entire stretch of NH-37, from 7th Mile to Khanapara in view of the waterlogging problem.

Pulak Mahanta, ADC and Chief Executive Officer of the District Disaster Management Authority and convener of the task force, said it has carried out the survey on Saturday and will submit its recommendations very soon.

The task force has studied different reasons behind the waterlogging problem along the NH-37 and will recommend short-term and long-term remedial measures to mitigate the problem.

Moreover, Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Commissioner Monalisa Goswami said it is not possible to control the waterlogging problem in Guwahati if the water flows down from the Meghalaya hills.

�We have a drainage system that can carry the excess water of Guwahati. But on Friday last, the waterlogging was caused mainly due to the water flowing down from Meghalaya. So, it had crossed the water carrying capacity of the city's drainage system. There is a need of teamwork among all the line departments to solve the problem,� Goswami said.

�The Raghunath Choudhary Path at Lachit Nagar and the Friends Path at Hatigaon are some of the new areas affected by the waterlogging problem this time. In those areas, the problem was caused due to the destruction of the drainage system after new construction work. People have not spared spaces for an adequate drainage system in those places,� Goswami said.

She also said the Bahini River, a major water channel in the eastern part of the city, is also unable to carry the excess water flowing down from Meghalaya.

Earlier this year, the GMC had taken up a project with a budget of Rs 75 crore to develop the drainage system in the city, along with a three-layered evaluation system. But, all those initiatives have become futile because of the recent waterlogging problem.

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