Pumping water unlikely to solve Rukminigaon’s urban flooding issues: Report

Guwahati, Nov 14: During every artificial flood situation in the city, it is a common scene that the Guwahati Municipal Corporation and Water Resources Department use pumps to pump out excess water from the affected areas to the water channels, including the Bharalu and Bahini rivers.

But it is not a viable solution to address the perennial problem of Guwahati, and this has been revealed in a recent study conducted by the state government on the flood problem of the Rukminigaon area.

As per the report, "continuously running pumps to discharge household water is not a viable solution, as it incurs unnecessary expenses for fuel and manpower."

The study was conducted by a committee chaired by the joint commissioner of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Mrinal Borah, after the Rukminigaon area was adversely impacted by the artificial flood earlier this year.

The study found a number of factors contributing to the artificial flood of the Rukminigaon area, including inflow of water from the Dispur Supermarket area and Dispur Secretariat area, inflow of water from the Wireless area near Basisthapur Bylane 1 and 2, overtopping of the Bahini River from the PIBCO point and Chinaki Path area due to excess water in the Bahini River caused by heavy inflow of water from Meghalaya, and absence of a clear pathway for discharge of the surface runoff water.

However, locals of the area alleged that the study report still remains in papers, as most of the short-term and long-term measures recommended by the expert committee are yet to be executed by the agencies concerned, including GMDA, GMC, PWD, etc.

It is particularly essential to take immediate measures to restore the gravitational flow of water from the Rukminigaon area as recommended by the report, locals of the area felt.

On the long-term measures as sustainable approaches to prevent future occurrences of floods in the area, the report said about "restoring the gravitational flow of water from the Rukminigaon area, whether directed towards the GS Road main drain or the Bahini River through its old natural routes, after dredging of the Bahini River."

"This process will require removal of blockage in the newly constructed drainage system and regrading the bed of the GS Road drain. from Manasha Mandir till Down Town cross drain," the report read.

"It is the high time to start work on the report to restore the gravitational flow of water, as it will take months of time to complete the works. If it is not done, the area will be severely affected by artificial flood in the next rainy season," Pranab Jyoti Subedar, a local of the area, said. Earlier this year, the Rukminigaon area was severely affected by an artificial flood, causing loss of many properties. According to locals, the artificial flood problem in the area started from 2018, after the construction of the new capital complex, and it was further aggravated by the flyover at the Super Market area.

By-

Manash Pratim Dutta