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Hindustan Times
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Assam govt demolishes IHM campus to clear waterbody in Guwahati
Guwahati, The Institute of Hotel Management was demolished on Monday to free Silsako Beel in Guwahati city, officials said. Assam govt demolishes IHM campus to clear waterbody in Guwahati The administration is eyeing to clear the natural waterbody from various structures, both private and government, to mitigate flood problems in the state capital, said Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah. "This is a difficult yet necessary decision. While IHM has served the city in the education sector, the pressing need to safeguard Guwahati from devastating floods demands urgent action. We are acting for the greater good of the city's future," he told reporters here. The IHM, a central government institute and spread over 15 bighas , is being relocated to a temporary building on GS Road, Baruah said. "We have allotted 30 bighas to IHM in Sonapur area. We will construct their infrastructure and hand it over to the institute," he added. Baruah said that eviction and clearance work at IHM marks an important development in making the 800-bigha reservoir project at Silsakoo, envisioned to address the city's chronic urban flooding. Demolition of the IHM campus started with classroom blocks. Hostel structures and other ancillary facilities will be dismantled in the coming days, he added. "This is the largest single institutional demolition within the reservoir zone. We aim to complete the process within 15 days, carrying out shifting and demolition simultaneously," he said. Earlier, the government had evicted the Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development and Institute of Cooperative Management from Silsako Beel. "The remaining two facilities one tennis court and Ginger hotel will also be evicted from the location. We are in discussion with them right now," the minister said. He said the reservoir site, spread across approximately 800 bighas , is expected to be excavated during the upcoming dry season. The government in 2008 had declared Silsako Beel, surrounded by Chachal, Hengerabari, Pathar Quarry and Satgaon areas, a protected waterbody in Guwahati through an Act and prohibited any construction or settlement in around 1,800 bighas of lake area. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
News18
21-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
Assam govt demolishes IHM campus to clear waterbody in Guwahati
Guwahati, Jul 21 (PTI) The Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) was demolished on Monday to free Silsako Beel (lake) in Guwahati city, officials said. The administration is eyeing to clear the natural waterbody from various structures, both private and government, to mitigate flood problems in the state capital, said Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah. 'This is a difficult yet necessary decision. While IHM has served the city in the education sector, the pressing need to safeguard Guwahati from devastating floods demands urgent action. We are acting for the greater good of the city's future," he told reporters here. The IHM, a central government institute and spread over 15 bighas (almost five acres), is being relocated to a temporary building on GS Road, Baruah said. 'We have allotted 30 bighas (almost 10 acres) to IHM in Sonapur area. We will construct their infrastructure and hand it over to the institute," he added. Baruah said that eviction and clearance work at IHM marks an important development in making the 800-bigha reservoir project at Silsakoo, envisioned to address the city's chronic urban flooding. Demolition of the IHM campus started with classroom blocks. Hostel structures and other ancillary facilities will be dismantled in the coming days, he added. 'This is the largest single institutional demolition within the reservoir zone. We aim to complete the process within 15 days, carrying out shifting and demolition simultaneously," he said. Earlier, the government had evicted the Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development (OKDISCD) and Institute of Cooperative Management (ICM) from Silsako Beel. 'The remaining two facilities — one tennis court and Ginger hotel — will also be evicted from the location. We are in discussion with them right now," the minister said. He said the reservoir site, spread across approximately 800 bighas (over 264 acres), is expected to be excavated during the upcoming dry season. The government in 2008 had declared Silsako Beel, surrounded by Chachal, Hengerabari, Pathar Quarry and Satgaon areas, a protected waterbody in Guwahati through an Act and prohibited any construction or settlement in around 1,800 bighas (over 595 acres) of lake area. PTI TR TR MNB view comments First Published: July 21, 2025, 19:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hindustan Times
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Assam minister Jayanta Malla Baruah apologises for remark against journalist
Silchar: Assam minister Jayanta Malla Baruah on Sunday issued an apology for his controversial remark against a Guwahati-based journalist on Friday that had sparked widespread backlash. Assam minister Jayanta Malla Baruah's controversial remark against a Guwahati-based journalist on Friday had sparked widespread backlash. (@jayanta_malla) Baruah, who handles the public health engineering department, took to social media to apologise, maintaining that his words were not meant to insult the media at large. 'Our family's association with the media are very old. My father worked as a correspondent for 22 years with Dainik Asom. From childhood, I have had deep respect for journalists,' he wrote. 'In a moment of frustration, I said something I should not have. While I meant it for one individual, I understand the entire journalist community felt hurt — and that pains me,' he added. During a media interaction at the Gauhati Press Club on Friday, a journalist reportedly asked Baruah a question, to which he allegedly replied saying he will not speak to a 'tolor shrenir manush' (lower-class person) and will answer when 'his owner' asks a question. This triggered outrage among media bodies, including the Media Association of Assam (MAA) and the Gauhati Press Club. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma apologised on Baruah's behalf on Saturday. 'No one has the right to insult them. I haven't heard what Jayanta Malla Baruah has said, but if he has said anything inappropriate, he should apologise. I will ask him to do so. And if anything wrong has happened, I apologise too,' Sarma said. The Gauhati Press Club issued a statement calling Baruah's comment 'undignified and unacceptable' and urged journalists to boycott the minister until he issued a public apology. 'Questioning the credibility of a scribe and hurling insults is undignified. If ministers don't want to be questioned, they should avoid inviting the media,' Gauhati Press Club president Susmita Goswami said. Baruah, however, alleged that a senior editor from the media group in question is trying to destroy his public image using the incident as a pretext. He urged people to watch the full video clip of the press conference to judge the interaction themselves. Defending Baruah, cabinet minister Pijush Hazarika said that the term used by Baruah might have been a reference to the journalist's young age or experience, and not to his social background. 'He was referring to the age of the journalist, not their social standing,' Hazarika said.
New Indian Express
01-06-2025
- Climate
- New Indian Express
Assam govt announces Rs 4 lakh aid for families of Guwahati landslide victims
GUWAHATI: The Assam government on Sunday announced ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to families of the five persons killed in landslides in the city in the last few days. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (DoHUA) minister Jayanta Malla Baruah, announcing the financial aid, said there have been "logistical challenges" in tackling the waterlogging problem of Guwahati city and corrective steps are being taken. He was talking to reporters after chairing a review meeting with the Kamrup Metropolitan district administration, Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and other concerned departments to assess the ongoing relief measures and enhance preparedness for artificial flooding caused by incessant rainfall in Guwahati. The meeting focused on immediate response protocols, distribution of essential relief materials and streamlining coordination among departments to ensure timely assistance to flood-affected citizens. The city had witnessed massive waterlogging since the early hours of Friday due to heavy rains, with main localities still inundated. Landslides in the city and outskirts had claimed five lives during the period. Baruah said the meeting decided to grant an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the five victims. He said ensuring timely delivery of relief materials is a top priority for the department and items such as mosquito repellents, candles, sanitary napkins and baby food are being prioritised for quick distribution in areas hit by waterlogging and power outages. "Relief materials will now be pre-positioned in elevated spots across flood-prone zones so that they can reach affected families within 2 to 3 hours of flooding," he added.
India Today
31-05-2025
- Climate
- India Today
Assam floods: 8 dead, over 78,000 affected in 17 districts due to heavy rain
Eight persons have been killed in floods and landslides in Assam as incessant rainfall caused massive inundation in 17 districts, affecting over 78,000 people, officials said on districts in the western part of the state remained on 'red alert' and eight more were on 'orange alert', as per Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) data, while rainwaters from upstream areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya aggravated the flood situation in the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said landslides claimed five lives, all in Kamrup Metropolitan district. Massive waterlogging was reported in Guwahati with many localities remaining submerged for the second day with rescue personnel shifting stranded people to safer places as residents abandoned their waterlogged houses with no water or power Affairs Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah and top officials inspected the situation in different parts of the city to assess the prevailing situation and review the government's emergency response of a person being taken for the last rites on a banana stem shaft from his residence amidst knee-deep waters from Rukminigaon area of the city led to sharp criticism among the citizens of the government's flood control local resident had reportedly died in his house and the family had to arrange for a shaft to take the body out to a dry place for it to be taken to the cremation claimed three lives, including two in Golaghat and one in Lakhimpur.A total of 17 districts were affected by the floods, including five by 'urban floods'.The flood-hit districts were Dhemaji, South Salmara, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Darrang, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, Kamrup, Biswanath, Tinsukia and Karbi Anglong than 58,000 people have been affected, while 1,224 flood-hit people have taken shelter in five relief camps. Another 11 relief distribution centres are also is the worst-hit district with more than 41,600 people agencies, including NDRF, SDRF, police and fire and emergency services personnel, were pressed into relief and rescue operations with people evacuated to safety from flood-affected were breached or affected in seven places, besides damage caused to infrastructure, including houses, roads and bridges in different parts, the ASDMA bulletin 'urban flood' affected districts are Kamrup, Dibrugarh, Darrang, Cachar and Kamrup Metropolitan, the bulletin 21,000 people have been hit by urban floods, with the highest number of affected people in Cachar district at 12, all the major rivers across the state were on a 'rising' water level trend, as per ASDMA Brahmaputra was flowing near the danger level in Dibrugarh, Ranganadi in Lakhimpur, Dhansiri in Numaligarh, Jia Bharali in Sonitpur, Kopili in Kampur and Beki in per the latest RMC data, Dhubri, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon have 'red alert' issued, while the districts of South Salmara Mankachar, Goalpara, Chirang, Baksa, Barpeta, Bajali, Dima Hasao and Cachar are on 'orange alert'.'Red alert' implies 'warning/take action', and the districts with such a warning may witness heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places, with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places, and squally winds with speed reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 'orange alert' asks people to be 'alert/be prepared to take action' for thunderstorm and lightning accompanied with gusty wind reaching wind speed 30 to 40 kmph with heavy to very heavy rain very likely at isolated Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said on Friday that the state was facing an 'abnormal situation' due to incessant downpours caused by massive cloud cover over several parts of the rainfall has also been recorded in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, aggravating the situation in Assam, especially in Guwahati, which has been hit by massive waterlogging, he casual leave was announced for government employees of Kamrup and Kamrup Metropolitan districts on Saturday, who have to commute some distance to reach their institutions have also been closed in the two districts on services at Guwahati airport were affected on Friday due to heavy rain and gusty winds, the officials Watch IN THIS STORY#Assam
