Shillong, August 06: The President of the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) Mr. Roykupar Synrem and its members has sent letter to Mr. C Ymbon minister incharge Water Resources Department urged the department for immediate steps to mitigate soil erosion and for flood protection in Shella area Umiam river downstream.
In the letter the HYC mention that the critical and worsening situation of flash flood and soil erosion in Shella Village and the need for immediate actions in this regard.
It is fact that our State, known for its abundant rainfall and hilly terrain, is increasingly vulnerable to devastating floods and landslides, causing significant damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and the overall well-being of its residents.
The impact of these natural disasters extends beyond immediate loss of life and property and Shella Village being situated in the course of the Umiam river downhill towards Bangladesh is also greatly affected by frequent flash floods and soil erosion.
Thousands of Acres of agricultural land have been washed away and properties have been destroyed and people residing in the area have been made to shift their houses from one place to the other due to this common occurrence in Shell `a area.
This has also led a decline in agricultural productivity, siltation of water bodies and an overall degradation of the environment and had affected the livelihoods of many families who are depended on agricultural activities thereby also contributing to food insecurity. Meghalaya State Disaster Management Plan acknowledges the vulnerability of the state to floods and landslides.
It is imperative that proactive measures are taken to mitigate these risks and protect vulnerable communities like the people of Shella Village from the frequent losses suffered due to floods and soil erosion.
HYC inform the department that only in a place called “Kalatek”, within Shella Village, where agricultural lands are situated, about 19 hectares or 1,90,000 Sq. metre of land have been washed away in a span of last 10 years in addition to the houses and other property destroyed due to flash flood and erosion.
The affected land owners and residents of Shella village have time and again raised this pertinent issue before the concern authority seeking steps to mitigate this problem but successive governments have failed and turned a blind-eye towards them.
Therefore, we urged upon you, to kindly take urgent and necessary steps to mitigate this problem by constructing revetments, spurs, embankments and any other protections infrastructure along the Umiam river within Shella Village from Pyrkan locality downstreams upto Kalatek, near Indo- Bangladesh Border, so that river banks are protected and further land loss are prevented.
