Assam, Meghalaya Chief Ministers Meet To Resolve Flooding Issue In Guwahati

The Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya have agreed to find a solution to the urban flooding issue in Guwahati in a manner which benefits both states at a crucial meeting on Monday evening.

The states have agreed to entrust North-Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) to do a proper satellite mapping of the area post which they will request IIT Roorkee to suggest a tangible solution to the issue.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma met on Monday evening on interstate issues but one issue that has prominently figured is the issue of hill cutting in Meghalaya, which Assam earlier claimed to have aggravated the flood situation in the Jorabat area near Guwahati and described it as a  "serious" issue. The Supreme Court has also issued notices last week to the Meghalaya and Assam governments regarding hill-cutting in Jorabat area.

Mr Sarma told reporters, "Government of Assam has given a detailed presentation, and we have shown how we are getting huge water from the Meghalaya side, and they plan to resolve the issues but at the same time interests of Meghalaya need to be protected."

"We will work on together to solve it. We will get the entire area satellite mapped by Northeast Space Application centre (NESAC) and then take the expertise of IIT Roorkee to resolve it," Himanta Biswa Sarma added.

"While Assam faces the challenge of the floods that come in from Meghalaya, we also have our challenges of different economic activities up in the hills. So, we are now trying to find a solution to minimise impact of floods in Guwahati induced by water flowing from Meghalaya," Mr Sangma said.

Eleven people have been killed in floods and landslides in Assam so far, while over 5.35 lakh population in more than 20 districts remained affected by the deluge, according to officials. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took stock of the flood situation in Assam in a telephone call with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and assured full support from the union government.

Briefing PM Modi over the phone, Mr Sarma informed him how continuous rainfall in Assam and adjoining states has led to flooding and impacted the people. "A short while ago, Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji called me to enquire about the current flood situation in Assam," Mr Sarma said in a post on X.