GUWAHATI, Feb 23 � The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has decided to desilt the city drains to their respective bed levels and those levels will be maintained from April 1, 2015 to October 31, 2017. This has been stated by the GMC in reply to an RTI query made by RTI-cum-environment activist Rohit Choudhury in January this year.
Significantly, the Municipal Corporation has also told Choudhury that the city has only one stormwater drain. It is laid along the railway line from Chandmari to Paltanbazar.
Further, it said the city has no drainage scheme to save it from flash floods. Moreover, the Municipal Corporation said it has no sewerage scheme of its own.
It also told Choudhury that the city drains are cleaned and desilted every year either through contractors, or, departmentally. The silts are removed till March 3l. And from April 1to October 31, the drains are kept at the desilted levels.
However, this time, the drains will be desilted upto their respective bed levels and those levels will be maintained from April 1, 2015 to October 31, 2017, said the Municipal Corporation.
Most of the city drains are being cleaned and de-silted through contractors and few drains are being taken up departmentally. The city drains are taken up under this (cleaning and desiltation) scheme, except the six major channels.
These six channels include the Bharalu, the Mora Bharalu, the Bahini, the Bondajan, the Basistha and the Lakhimijan. These major channels are being taken up by the Water Resources Department of the State, said the Municipal Corporation in its reply to Choudhury.
