'Time has come to deal with Guwahati flood': HC seeks plan from govt

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court on Wednesday said the time has come to deal with the problem of flooding in the city and the government is required to take steps to resolve this issue permanently.

Hearing a writ petition filed in the form of a public interest litigation by North East Eco Development Society on Guwahati's water logging issue, a division bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Suman Shyam asked the government to place a plan to mitigate the crisis.

The Court noted that Wednesday was not fixed to hear the PIL but on a mention made by Gauhati Bar Association President Kamal Nayan Choudhury on Tuesday about the problem on the previous day, this matter was directed to be placed before the Bench.

"Mr Choudhury has invited our attention to the flood situation the Guwahati city has witnessed on 05/08/2024. The newspapers have also extensively reported the situation and the trauma faced by the citizens of the Guwahati city," the court said.

Residents of Guwahati on Monday faced a horrendous situation following a spell of heavy rains that flooded almost all peripheral roads, leaving people stranded for seven-eight hours in their vehicles till midnight. Students, who had left schools in the afternoon, were in their buses till 11 pm.

"Taking into consideration the fact situation, we are of the view that now time has come to deal with the problem of waterlogging/flooding in the Guwahati city and the State is required to take steps for resolving this problem permanently," the court said.

It requested Advocate General Devajit Saikia to assist the Court on behalf of the government and Choudhury as amicus curiae.

"Hence, we deem it appropriate to grant some time to Mr Saikia to place on record the plan which is in existence and future comprehensive plan to deal with the menace of waterlogging and flooding in the Guwahati city by the next date of hearing," the court said.

It asked the Principal Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs to file an affidavit.

Stating that the Assam government was "not serious" in solving perennial waterlogging problems in the state capital, the high court on June 26 had come down heavily for not responding to its repeated notice and slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 each to four departments concerned.

On Monday, Guwahati witnessed a heavy spell of rain for about two hours in the afternoon, but the horror of the flooding across areas started unfolding in the evening when people started leaving their offices.

The rainfall created havoc in the city, leading to knee-deep water on all major and minor roads along with dozens of residential areas. In some places, water levels touched the chest.