In Guwahati, the Institute of Hotel Management was demolished on Monday to clean up Silsako Beel in Guwahati city.

The administration was keen on clearing the natural water body of various structures, both private and government, to mitigate flood problems in the state capital, according to the Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Jayanta Malla Baruah.

“This is a difficult 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,” the minister told reporters.

IHM was a central government institute spread over 15 bighas. It is being relocated to a temporary building on GS Road.

“We have allocated 30 bighas to IHM in the Sonapur area. We will construct their infrastructure and hand it over to the institute… 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,” the minister further added.

According to Baruah, the eviction and clearance work at IHM marks an important development in making the 800-bigha reservoir project at Silsako, which will address the city’s chronic urban flooding problem. The demolition of the IHM campus included classroom blocks, hostel structures, and other ancillary facilities.

Other Demolitions

Earlier, the government evicted the Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development and the Institute of Cooperative Management for the Silsako Beel project.

The government declared Silsako Beel a protected water body in Guwahati in the year 2008 through an act and prohibited any construction or settlement around the 1,800 bighas of lake land. The water body is surrounded by Chachal, Hengrabari, and Pathar Quarry.