Guwahati Floods: Assam, Meghalaya to Hold Talks on June 2

As floodwaters continue to choke Guwahati, sparking widespread power outages and school closures, political attention is now turning to the hills of Meghalaya — a region increasingly blamed for the city’s worsening water crisis. In response to mounting pressure and a recent Supreme Court directive, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma is set to visit Assam on June 2 for urgent talks with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The meeting comes amid growing concerns over unchecked hill cutting along the Assam-Meghalaya border near Jorabat, an area widely cited by environmentalists and residents as a critical factor in the city’s recurring urban floods. Experts argue that large-scale deforestation and terrain modification in Meghalaya have drastically increased surface runoff into Assam’s capital, where aging drainage infrastructure is ill-equipped to cope with the onslaught.

The issue was recently flagged by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) — a body appointed by the Supreme Court to monitor environmental violations — which urged both state governments to collaborate and present a joint action plan to the apex court.

But Assam’s chief minister appeared to distance his administration from the root cause of the present crisis. Addressing reporters on Friday, Himanta Biswa Sarma downplayed the role of land alterations in Meghalaya, instead attributing the current flooding to an intense weather system. “We are witnessing the impact of a major depression that formed over Bangladesh and has resulted in relentless rainfall. This is not just about human activity — it’s a force of nature,” he said.

CM Sarma did acknowledge that long-standing waterlogging problems in Guwahati are “partially influenced” by unregulated development in neighbouring Meghalaya but insisted that this week’s deluge was primarily triggered by extraordinary weather conditions.

Still, for residents wading through waist-deep water in several neighbourhoods, the blame game offers little relief. With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) maintaining a red alert for Assam and Guwahati’s urban systems pushed to the brink, calls for accountability — and action — are growing louder.

For now, the people of Guwahati remain caught in the crossfire between nature’s fury and governmental inertia — with no clear end in sight.