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Sorusola, Borsola beels shrinking due to encroachment

By STAFF Reporter

GUWAHATI, July 13 � The State Government�s oft-repeated assertion to protect and preserve the water bodies of the city turns out to be hollow against the backdrop of mounting encroachment on the wetland thanks to the authorities� indifference in checking such vandalism on supposedly protected natural zones.

The two Solabeels (Sorusola and Borsola), which are key indicators of the city�s environmental well-being besides being a natural storm-water reservoir, continue to shrink by the day in the face of unabated encroachment. This is despite the existence of the Guwahati Water-Bodies (Preservation and Conservation) Act, 2008, and a Gauhati High Court directive to the effect that the Solabeel should be properly preserved and kept free from any kind of pollution.

Both the Governor and the Chief Minister had also assured that the wetlands would be protected from encroachment and other forms of unwarranted human interference.

Filling up of the wetland besides construction activities and dumping of garbage have caused drastic reduction in size of the wetland and are also polluting its water. The natural channels linking the wetland with the Brahmaputra through the Bharalu, too, have been badly disrupted. The shrinkage of the wetland, in turn, has severely retarded its water-carrying capacity, which is at the root of prolonged rain-induced waterlogging in many nearby areas.

The Solabeel has a network of channels and drains through which it receives storm-water and sewerage from a number of areas such as Chandmari, Gandhibasti, Islampur, Chenikuthi, Ambari, Lakhtokia, Chatribari, Tokobari, Rehabari, Paltan Bazaar, etc. The wetland also harbours wide-ranging avi-fauna and aquatic fauna and hence important from the point of biodiversity.

Various citizen committees of nearby areas that are concerned about the plight of the wetland have been running from pillar to post to put an end to the vandalism being perpetrated under the very nose of the government authorities which are supposed to look after its well-being.

�From the 1980s, the State Government rather thoughtlessly started allotting land to institutions and individuals in the beel areas. The situation has been aggravated further by encroachment and construction of a number of buildings such as the wholesale fish market, KC Das Commerce College, Lion�s Club Eye Hospital and Gorkha Bhawan, etc. KC Das Commerce College, in particular, has totally obstructed a big drain of the beel, severely aggravating the waterlogging problem,� Hemen Lahkar of Brihattar Chatribari Unnayan Samiti and Mahanagar Mancha, Guwahati, said.

The Samiti has demanded immediate eviction of all encroachers besides shifting of the buildings that had come up on allotted land inside the beel ecosystem. �The Government should cancel all land allotments given earlier in the beel area besides evicting the encroachers immediately. We also want the beel area to be demarked and a fencing erected around it. The Government should also remove the silt and garbage from the wetland and restore its natural condition,� Lahkar said, adding that the living conditions of six lakh city inhabitants are intrinsically linked to the wetland�s well-being.

As the beel attracts wide-ranging aquatic birds, trees should be planted in its vicinity so as to provide nesting area for the birds, Lahkar said, adding that recreational facilities such as boating can also be started on a part of the wetland to make it a tourist spot.

Very recently, the Unnayan Samity had lodged a formal complaint with the Paltan Bazar police station against some new illegal constructions in the beel but no action has been taken by the police or the administration.

�Before the GMC election, hundreds of citizens of various localities staged a demonstration, demanding a stop to the vandalism perpetrated on the Solabeel. We met the Chief Minister as well seeking his intervention on restoring the beel to its earlier pristine status. Regrettably, none of the constructions including the college, hospital and market have been shifted from the beel,� Lahkar said.

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