GUWAHATI, May 30: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the issue of hill cutting in Meghalaya has aggravated the flood situation in the Jorabat area, and that the “serious” issue would be discussed with Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma here on June 2.
“On June 2, I have invited Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma to Guwahati to discuss the issue of hill cutting in Jorabat, which is a serious matter, and the impact on certain localities in Guwahati during the rainy season, Sarma informed mediapersons here.
The chief minister however did not blame Meghalaya for the rainwater flow to the city over the past two days.
“I cannot blame any state for the current flood situation in Guwahati. There is a depression in Bangladesh and huge cloud accumulation over the Bay of Bengal that has triggered incessant rainfall in the Northeast over the past few days. So, the current flood situation can only be attributed to nature’s fury,” he said.
“Meghalaya has been experiencing heavy rain and the excess water flows down from the hills to the catchment areas in Assam over a long period, which compounds the problem of floods in Guwahati.,” he added.
“But rain water from the hills of Meghalaya (because of the topography) is bound to flow down to Guwahati. However, the issue here is hill cutting and its impact on the low-lying areas of Assam during the rainy season,” the chief minister said.
“The Supreme Court has also issued notices the day before yesterday to the Meghalaya and Assam governments regarding hill cutting in Jorabat. This matter will also come up for consideration of the apex court,” he said.
The chief minister however said that given the weather forecast, there could be some respite from the rain from Saturday afternoon onwards.
“We have declared special casual leave for government employees. However, the leave will not apply to those employees whose residential quarters are located on the office premises,” Sarma said.
“Government schools in Kamrup Metro and Kamrup districts will remain closed tomorrow because of inclement weather. Most private schools are, as it is, closed on Saturday. We also request owners of private establishments to grant leave to employees coming to work from a distance,” he said.