Day-long discourse on 'Urban Deluge' at Assam University; 10 point resolution to avoid similar floods

The devastation caused by the recent flood in Silchar has left an indelible mark of misery in the minds of the city dwellers along with the people of the surrounding areas. In a view to have an in-depth analysis and study of the recent disaster, Assam University, Silchar in association with the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) of Cachar, organized a day-long discourse on ‘Urban Deluge’ on September 6. The program was organised by the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science of the varsity at the conference hall of the department.

The program started at 10:30 in the morning where the inaugural session was chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Rajiv Mohan Pant. Prof. Rajat Gupta, former Director of NIT (Srinagar) & NIT (Mizoram) and ACS J. R. Lalsim, the Joint Secretary to Govt. of Assam also attended the program as the guests of honour. Prof. Parthankar Choudhury, Dean, E. P. Odum School of Environmental Science of the University, ADC Yuvraj Barthakur, Prof. Ashim Kr Dey of NIT Silchar and Prof. Ajit Kumar Das, Head of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar were also present on the dais.

The discourse was held under the Chairmanship of Prof. Parthankar Choudhury, who explained the need for introspection and urged upon the need for a brainstorming discourse including academia, researchers, administration, and civil society to arrive at a possible flood mitigation strategy for the upcoming years. He also informed that the outcome of the discussion will be sent to the government agencies for taking up the much-needed steps to prevent any future floods.

The brief inaugural was followed by a technical session chaired by Prof. Rajat Gupta. The technical session was followed by a discussion session by Dr Rajib Gupta of DDMA and various experts from different institutions including the DDMA. Prof. Ashim Kr Dey, Dr. Subhrajit Dutta, Prof. Parthankar Choudhury, Prof. Atri Deshamukhya, Prof. Arup Barman, and Dr. Debamalyo Ghosh, Dr. Ananya Gupta, Sandeep Das, Supriyo Deb, Annie George, the Technical Consultant from UNICEF, Nabanita Nath were among the main speakers. The speakers discussed and brainstormed on various issues pertaining to unplanned urbanization, encroachment of drains and natural water reservoirs, catchment areas along with malfunctioning of various malls and big sluice gates. Ashu Paul represented civil society in the session.

The interactive session, post lunch was made vibrant by people from the academics, government departments, ombudsman, research scholars and social activists. This session was jointly chaired by ACS J. R. Lalsim, Prof. A. K. Dey and Prof. P. Choudhury. This session also discussed the adoption of a resolution to be sent to the state government for implementation. Before closing the program, a ten-point resolution was taken up which will be forwarded to the Government of Assam for their implementation. The short-term resolutions include the construction and maintenance of sluice gates and drainage systems for the free flow of water and free from disposable and non-disposable garbage. Designated areas marked as wetlands or natural sinks should be conserved and all sorts of anthropogenic activities should be prevented.

Among the other resolutions, strengthening all river embankments and raising the height of dykes at all vulnerable places along with steps to prevent riverbank erosion found concrete mentions. Other than that, the construction of a retaining wall for Rangirkhal, Singirkhal and Longaikhal was also mentioned.

The resolution also mentioned the need for a transnational agreement between India and Bangladesh for collaborative river dredging. The long-term resolution mentioned, that an expert team with river engineers, civil engineers, environmental engineers and experts from all relevant fields need to be constituted to make a feasibility study for the construction of a new “river canal” from Sonabarighat to the Panchgram area. Speaking about the outcome of the event, Dean Parthankar Choudhury said, “We got an overwhelming response from all corners of academia, including the civil society. Hope something will happen, fingers crossed”.