Assam: ‘Free Silsako Beel of encroachment’

GUWAHATI: Working on a war footing to accomplish the mission of flood-free Guwahati, the Assam government has directed the Kamrup district administration to clear the encroachment from the land of the Silsako Beel, a wetland.
The state has also directed it to acquire the land of the beel, which was allotted to a hotel, a research institute and a lawn tennis court during the Congress rule.
The eviction drive started on February 26.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “I have directed the district administration to clear the encroachment and acquire the land housing the Ginger Hotel, Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development and the lawn tennis court following legal procedure. It will take some time, but the land will be cleared and included in the beel, which will eventually help in reviving the beel and its capacity of holding storm water.”
He added that the large-scale encroachment on the beel land took place from 2009 to 2015 as per the satellite images.
The beel comes under the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). The GMDA chairperson, Narayan Deka, told TOI that the authority has a target of clearing around 1,000 bighas of land and the eviction drive has already started.
“After the encroachment and eviction drive, the capacity of the beel to hold more storm water during the monsoon will increase. This will eventually help in making the city flood free,” he added.
He said a service lane from the beel will be constructed along the bank of the Bondajan channel, which flows into the Brahmaputra river. Following this, vehicles can ply to carry away the silt removed from the beel and the channel from time to time.