Shillong, May 22 (UNI) After Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma blamed Meghalaya for water logging in Assam’s main city of Guwahati, Meghalaya Disaster Management Minister, Kyrmen Shylla said that Assam government should focus on strengthening its urban drainage infrastructure to prevent water-logging in Guwahati.

“Assam should focus on improving its own urban drainage systems rather than blaming for water logging. Until Assam strengthens its systems, blaming Meghalaya won’t solve the problem,” Shylla said on Thursday.

He added: “Even if water flows from our state, that’s a natural occurrence-Meghalaya receives the highest rainfall in the region.”

On Wednesday, Sarma blamed cutting of hills in Meghalaya as the main cause for recurring water logging in Guwahati. He also revealed that his government has approached a Supreme Court committee to probe over the ongoing hill-cutting activities in Meghalaya.

“If this (ongoing hill-cutting) continues, Guwahati will eventually turn into an ocean,” Sarma said.

Last year, the Assam Chief Minister had accused University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM) located at Killing village under Ri-Bhoi district of contributing to what he described “flood jihad”, suggesting that runoff from its hilltop campus worsens flooding in Guwahati.

Stating that Meghalaya has not received any official communication from Assam on the water logging, Shylla said, Assam should conduct a proper survey first rather than pointing fingers at Meghalaya.

“If surveys show that we’ve contributed, we’re open to talks and corrective steps,” the Meghalaya Minister said reiterating that flooding in Guwahati is a recurring urban challenge requiring better in-state preparedness.

Drawing an analogy to the perennial water-logging in Assam, Shylla stated, “If you meet with an accident due to high speed, you can’t blame the road. You have to drive carefully and take responsibility.”

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