Residents demand 12 km embankment to prevent flood

SHILLONG: The plains of Garo Hills often bear the brunt of floods with nothing less than 2 lakh people getting affected every year by nature’s wrath.
Following the yearly problem which throws life out of gear in Garo Hills, the residents of the area now want the state government to construct a 12 km embankment along the belt which would save the area from floods.
Phulbari MLA SG Esmatur Mominin, while speaking to media persons, said that the water has receded following the floods which had hit the area last month causing significant damage to a number of houses in the process.
He informed that he has asked the chief minister along with the home minister and revenue and disaster management minister to provide help to the affected people as most of their possessions were washed away.
He said that the District Administrations have also been directed to take necessary action in this regard.
Lamenting on the fact that crops were damaged in the floods, he added that there is only a permanent solution to save the plains from yearly floods which is the construction of an embankment-cum-road in the area.
“If these embankments are constructed, water from the Brahmaputra river would not be able to enter the plains,” he said.
Stating that a protection of Phulbari embankment was constructed way back in 1997 by former Minister MI Sarkar, he said that if the initiative was not taken, the entire Phulbari town would have been washed away by now.
He said that the embankment must not be limited to Phulbari bazar as there is a need to construct a 12 km long embankment-cum-road from Phulbari to Rajabala via Nidanpur.