Guwahati, Aug 6: Congress leader and Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday highlighted in Parliament the widespread discomfort caused to people, owing to artificial floods in Guwahati.
A heavy downpour on Monday afternoon triggered waterlogging and flash floods across Guwahati city, disrupting traffic and leaving many commuters, including school children, stranded in vehicles and school buses, amidst a precarious situation with many areas submerged under water for hours.
Addressing the critical issue, Gogoi urged the Union government to work with the Assam government to understand the situation and take urgent action.
He stated that the entire city came to a standstill on Monday evening and was submerged under water.
“Utter mismanagement resulted in long traffic jams with people stranded for hours on the Zoo Road flyover,” Gogoi said.
“No measures were taken to resolve the issue. Due to its unique geographical location, Guwahati is also prone to landslides,” the MP said.
Notably, the Kamrup Metro district administration, as a precautionary measure, had issued an order on Monday evening, directing closure of educational institutions (government and private) within the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) area on Tuesday.
The Congress leader further emphasised the need to take preventive measures urgently to avoid further inconvenience to people.
He also urged the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change to come up with comprehensive measures to track the responsiveness of state governments to tackle climate change induced emergencies.
‘Coordination with Meghalaya govt’
Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma attributed the cause of the flooding to heavy rainfall in the Ri Bhoi district of neighbouring Meghalaya, as well as the afternoon downpour in Guwahati.
“Yesterday, Ri-Bhoi district in Meghalaya received record rainfall of nearly 100 mm. Heavy rainfall in the hills along with rains of 60mm in Guwahati, resulted in extraordinary flash floods in parts of the state capital,” Sarma said.
He further informed that rainfall in Khanapara area of Guwahati touched 132 mm within 90 minutes on Monday. “This is almost 20-25 percent of the total rainfall received by the city in the entire monsoon season,” the chief minister said.
“Today, I chaired a meeting with all stakeholders to work out a comprehensive solution baked in with early warning and quick response mechanisms. We will also be in touch with the Meghalaya government to implement a real-time coordination protocol,” the chief minister said.