Though the State Government has announced as well as initiated a number of measures to remove the flash flood-related woes of the Guwahatians, scores of residents of this premier northeastern city are still aggrieved. To them, the Government has not done anything scientific to remove their woes permanently. Whatever the Government has done and announced are mere knee-jerk ad hoc measures. Even the scientific documents, like the master plan of the Bharalu river prepared by the Brahmaputra Board, have not been given a damn by the Government while addressing these problems, they allege. Distinguished civil engineer Indrajit Barua, who has been studying the problem for a long period, says that the Government has even gone to the extent of violating the city's 1971 master plan for drainage and water supply, even though the State Assembly had approved that document. Development agencies like the State Public Works Department (PWD) are constructing drains in an ad-hoc manner, contrary to the drainage master plan, without taking in to account the ground reality, he says. Hydrologists working with the Central Government point to the fact that the State Government has been creating a serious problem with its apparent keenness on widening the Bharalu in its upstream areas near the Beltola Bazar. The river is between seven to eight metres in width at this point with a carrying capacity of around 25 cumecs and 30 cumecs. If the river is widened at this point that will necessitate widening of its channel throughout its length in the downstream areas in a proportionate manner, besides making the existing pumps at the Bharalumukh sluice gate redundant, these hydrologists say. The Bharalu Mater Plan had suggested that the State Government should develop a hydro-meteorological network in the basin of the river. Further, it asked for a flood plain zoning regulation, ban on deforestation and hill cutting and implementation of the drainage improvement schemes prepared by different agencies like STUP Consultancy of Kolkata, among others. Some residents question the justification of demolition of the bridges over the Bharalu at this point when the Government itself has failed to keep the banks of the river free from human occupation for construction of service roads. Moreover, the permissions issued by the authorities concerned to such bridges and the buildings or individual plots connected through such bridges with the rest of the city, have also created a legal complication, which could have been avoided. Significantly, the authorities have spared some bridges despite their being technically defective. All these are certainly not going to help the cause of the city, they warn. Indrajit Barua is critical of the Government also on one more point. The Government in the Guwahati Development Department (GDD) abandoned implementation of a drainage scheme mid-way wasting around Rs 40 crore a few years back. This shows how genuine is the sincerity of the Government towards solving the flash flood problem of the city, he says. He suggests appointment of a consultant to survey, investigate, plan and design the surface drainage system of the city. Government should make funds available for such planning and design works, keep the DPRs ready so that they can be presented to the funding agencies as soon as such finding is announced, said the veteran engineer. Wherever drainage system is designed scientifically there is no water logging. In this connection, he says, examples of the SBI Colony, RBI Colony, Maligaon Railway Colony, Narengi Army Cantonment, Jagiroad HPC Colony, BRPL Colony etc can be cited. Moreover, Barua suggests a permanent task force comprising engineers of the PWD, PHE, Town and Country Planning and Water Resources Department. A Chief Engineer, with at least three years' tenure, should head this body and it should report directly to the GDD. All its engineers should be deputed for a period of not less than three years, says Barua.