GUWAHATI: Concerned with the “dying” Bharalu, a tributary of the Brahmaputra river, a group of Guwahati residents have joined hands with the government to save it, and have submitted an action plan to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and Guwahati Development Department (GDD). Bharalu flows through the thickly populated Guwahati before meeting the Brahmaputra.
According to conservationists, in the last 50 years, the tributary has become akin to a heavily polluted drain, becoming the root cause of severe flooding in the city.
Robin Kalita, a former Indian Railway Traffic Service employee, said: “The present condition of the Bharalu has compelled me to do something to save it, which has turned into a dirty and stinking drain. Few like-minded people have joined me in the mission. We have prepared an action plan to revive and save the Bharalu.”
The GMC and GDD are yet to respond to the action plan submitted by Kalita and his associates.
According to Kalita, the action plan includes spreading of awareness among people, making the river banks encroachment-free and widening of Bharalu. “The common people cannot do anything without the government’s help. We can help the government in creating public awareness and identifying encroached areas. The departments concerned will have to take necessary actions,” he added.
Various organisations and environmentalists have raised their voices to save the Bharalu, while many experts have also given suggestions. However, no steps have been taken till date. Conservationist Hemen Lahkar told TOI, “Due to the government’s lackadaisical attitude, the river that was once home to varied aquatic species has turned into a dirty drain, carrying the city’s waste.”
“Moreover, the government’s inaction has given an opportunity to encroach the river banks, as a result of which the size of the river has reduced drastically over the decades,” he added.
GMC commissioner Devasish Sharma said the city does not have a waste management plant and an integrated waste management policy. “People often throw garbage into the drains, which ultimately opens into the Bharalu, thereby polluting it. The clogged channel results into flooding,” he added. Sharma, however, said the GMC is planning to take some initiative in the matter soon.
