Each April/May, all our politicians who pay donations to get invited as Guests/Chief-Guests at Bihu functions also go around the state weeping crocodile tears at the first wave of floods that hit the state around the same time. Come August/September the same people go around Guwahati commiserating with those that have been affected by artificial floods that drown the city. Engineers and intellectuals go on television to say why Guwahati is a lost cause: large parts of the city are below the high water mark of the Brahmaputra. In the rainy season there is no way for the rainwater that fall over the city to flow out to the Brahmaputra. So what can the poor Chief Minister do? What is the way out? Is there a solution to Assams flood problem? Or to Guwahatis water-logging problem? I think there is. And the solutions might come out of the Netherlands. Know what: 90% of the Dutch city of Rotterdam--also Europes busiest port--is below the sea level! But why only Rotterdam, nearly one-third of that entire country is below the sea level. So if the Dutch can keep the sea at bay, can we not do the same for the Brahmaputra? I came across two interesting articles, one in The Hindu, the other in The Economic Times that talk about how the Dutch manage (excess) water. thehindu/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/living-in-the-deltas-being-dutch-and-dry/article6473214.ece economictimes.indiatimes/news/economy/infrastructure/how-to-climate-proof-your-city/articleshow/44865002.cms
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 06:03:10 +0000
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