Army personnel rescue marooned people at Rajgarh on Friday. Picture by UB Photos

Oct. 10: Taken aback by the havoc caused by the latest flash floods in the city, the district administration has finally woken up to the need for rubberised boats and other equipment to effectively tackle natural disasters.

After being caught on the wrong foot when the half of the city went under rainwater, a harried Kamrup (Metropolitan) administration decided to procure 10 rubberised boats and life jackets to deal with such contingencies in future.

?We have placed orders for 10 rubberised boats and some life jackets which will be primarily used for relief and rescue during floods in the city,? said Kamrup (metropolitan) deputy commissioner A.K. Absar Hazarika.

On Friday, the administration had to call in the army to evacuate marooned residents from several localities that were flooded after heavy rainfall for the last few days.

Twelve rubberised boats of the army were also pressed into service to ferry the flood-hit from areas like Tarun Nagar, Rajgarh, Lachit Nagar, Anilnagar, Zoo Road and Dhirenpara to safer places in the city.

Incidentally, city police have also placed a proposal at the Panbazar police headquarters for purchasing rubberised boats for patrolling the waterlogged areas. At present, only the river police have their own boats.

At a meeting on Friday, city SP Hiren Chandra Nath said he had formally tabled the proposal. He added that there was an increased need for the boats to prevent a rise in crime in submerged localities from where most residents have shifted to drier places leaving behind their valuables in their deserted homes.

?It also becomes extremely difficult for policemen to patrol as well as carry out rescue operations in knee-deep water,? he added.

Thousands of the affected, meanwhile, are still taking shelter in the camps set up in different localities. The relief operations are being carried out under the direct supervision of additional chief secretary C.K. Das.

District administration officials said adequate relief materials, including thousands of drinking water pouches, are being distributed among the flood victims. Most of the potable water sources have been contaminated.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi told reporters on Sunday that the government would engage experts to study the flood problem in city. He said stress would be on proper utilisation of water resources and afforestation to ease the problem.

Gogoi blamed depredation of the forest and hills in Meghalaya, shrinking wetlands and encroachments on hills for the flood problem in the city assuming severe proportions over the past few years and the sharp rise in the incidents of landslides.

Once relief and rescue are over, the district administration will convene a meeting of all the authorities concerned with the development of Guwahati to discuss what went wrong and what needs to be done to prevent recurrence of disasters like flash floods and mudslips.