GUWAHATI: With monsoon around the corner, the nightmare of floods has returned to haunt residents.For the past several years, the city has been badly affected by artificial floods. "So far, we have only listened to promises of ministers and the district administration. We have not witnessed any change. The administration must finish all remaining flood-control work before the rains," said Ramen Hazarika , a resident of Anil Nagar , one of the worst flood-hit areas of the city.Additional chief secretary MGVK Bhanu had earlier asked the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and other government agencies to prepare a report on the flood-prone areas of the city by March 31. He had also asked the GMC and the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to highlight the reason behind floods in Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, Tarun Nagar and Sree Nagar.The district administration said it was taking the issue very seriously. Deputy commissioner M Angamuthu said clearing the water channels would be a key task ahead of the monsoon."Several authorized or unauthorized structures like residential buildings and boundary walls have been observed in the immediate vicinity of Deeper Beel and its adjoining areas. These are blocking the free flow of water to the water body from the natural channels passing through the city leading to inundation and water logging," said Angamuthu.He asked the CEO of GMDA, officers of the Guwahati and Azara revenue circles, divisional forest officers of Kamrup (East) division and wildlife division to submit within a week a status report on constructions inside a two-km radius of Deepor Beel.

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