Assam, Meghalaya form joint committee to look into flood charges against private varsity

GUWAHATI: Weeks after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had blamed a private university in Meghalaya for flash floods in Guwahati, the two states decided to form a joint committee to look into the matter.Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday said the joint committee would be formed to address the concerns raised by the Assam government.“During a conversation that I had with the Assam chief minister recently, we decided that we will form a joint committee with officials from both states to look into the concerns raised by Assam and others,” Sangma told the media.He said the chief secretaries of the two states were in touch with each other to formalise the committee’s formation after an official communication was received from the Assam government. He said the committee would be formed within a week.“Hopefully, we will be able to resolve most of the issues,” he added. Last month, the Assam CM had accused the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM) of engaging in a “flood jihad”. He said the university flattened four to five hills on its camps to build new structures, thereby causing artificial floods in Guwahati.“Earlier, rainwater from Meghalaya slowly entered Guwahati but ever since the USTM’s establishment, the pace of water entering the city increased unprecedently,” Sarma had stated.Established in 2011, USTM is just on the other side of the interstate border on Guwahati’s southern fringe. It was founded by Mahbubul Hoque who is also the chancellor.



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