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Saving Bondajan

While the government must be appreciated for having launched an eviction drive in and around Silsako Beel in Guwahati

Saving Bondajan

Sentinel Digital DeskBy : Sentinel Digital Desk

  |  29 May 2022 3:43 AM GMT

While the government must be appreciated for having launched an eviction drive in and around Silsako Beel in Guwahati, it is also equally important to clear the encroachments from Bondajan. The two are interconnected water-bodies situated from south to north along the VIP Road near Six-Mile and are extremely significant for keeping waterlogging and floods in a vital portion of Guwahati city under control. The authorities which are directly related to Guwahati's development and administration should keep in mind that the Silsako Beel basin covers a catchment area of a little over 92 sq km, and is the third-largest among the four basins that constitute Guwahati city. The other three basins are – Deepor Beel basin (144 sq km), Bharalu basin (100 sq km) and Kalmoni basin (66.5 sq km). The Silsako Basin in fact covers the Khanapara Hills, the western part of Amchang reserve forest, Narangi Hills, the eastern side of Hengerabari Hills and has several rivulets that take down the water from these hills. After the water collects at Silsako Beel, the excess water then flows out to the Brahmaputra through the Bondajan channel from the western side of the pipeline headquarter township of Oil India Ltd at Narangi. A TISS Mumbai study conducted in 2018 has listed four reasons for the slow murder of Silsako Beel and Bondajan, these being encroachment, siltation caused due to destruction of the hills, earth-filling, and garbage dumping. The 2018 report had described the condition of Bondajan to be 'worse', with the four-laning of the Guwahati-Chandrapur-Morigaon state highway being the main culprit. It is important to keep on record that a major portion of Silsako Beel and Bondajan had been already systematically occupied by influential people and institutions owned by influential people before enactment of the Guwahati Waterbodies (Preservation and Conservation) Act, 2008. With the authorities of Army's 56 Sub-Area filling up the wetlands and low-lying areas inside its Narangi campus in the past two years, the pressure on Silsako Beel has only further increased. Given this situation, while eviction in Silsako needs to be further intensified, Bondajan too immediately requires a similar drive.

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