GUWAHATI, March 4: Three cabinet ministers in a boat inspected the encroachments in the adjoining areas of Deepor Beel, situated in the Ramsar site of Assam.
Assam’s Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah and Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika began a survey tour in a boat, the day after Urban Affairs Minister Ashok Singhal exercised an inspection of the beel.
The three ministers asked the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GDMA) to evaluate the area to restore the water reservoir and keep Guwahati away from massive urban floods.
As per reports, Deepor Beel shrunk from 40 sg km to 4 sq km in the past 50 years. The Tourism Minister stated that the fragile ecology of the Beel is now under threat. Baruah further informed that as per directions of the Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the cabinet ministers investigated several sites near the beel and urged the concerned authorities to undertake a survey to find if waters coming from Brahmaputra river could be diverted to the beel in the course of Monsoon. The step is taken to ensure the prevention of floods and provide fresh water to the beel which will ultimately revive the ecology.
