SHILLONG: Cabinet Minister and Jirang legislator Sosthenes Sohtun has addressed the recurring artificial flash floods in Ri-Bhoi district, attributing the crisis to a mix of engineering oversights, rampant encroachment, and poor waste management, in addition to extreme weather events.
While acknowledging that cloudbursts and heavy downpours are unavoidable natural phenomena, Sohtun stressed that human negligence and poor civil planning have drastically intensified the problem.
At the core of the issue, Sohtun pointed to the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), criticizing the agency for failing to construct and maintain adequately sized drainage networks along the major National Highway corridor.
The situation is further exacerbated by indiscriminate garbage dumping into public drains, which clogs critical runoff routes and causes rainwater to spill onto major roads during even brief monsoon showers.
Sohtun elaborated on the environmental degradation witnessed across the district, highlighting how unchecked human encroachment over the past decade and a half has crippled the region’s natural hydrology. Rivers and streams that once spanned 15 to 20 feet in width have been constricted to as little as five feet due to development and private encroachments.
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This drastic reduction in natural carrying capacity means that just an hour or two of heavy rain is now enough to flood entire stretches of roadway.
Responding to regional friction on the issue, Sohtun firmly rejected accusations from the Assam administration blaming Meghalaya for downstream flooding in border areas like Jorabat. He noted that Assam’s low-lying, wetland topography inherently exposes it to chronic waterlogging, and maintained that the main driver behind Jorabat’s urban flooding is massive drainage blockages caused by unmanaged solid waste dumping.
Terming the flood crisis a shared regional responsibility, Sohtun urged both states to jointly overhaul their infrastructure and waste management systems for a long-term solution.
(4FrontMedia news)
