Meghalaya: Joint committee to study varsity’s earth cutting resulting in Guwahati floods

Guwahati: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday (September 5, 2024) said a joint committee will be constituted to study the issues raised by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma against the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM).

In August this year, CM Sarma launched a series of attacks against USTM and its proprietor and chancellor Mahbabul Haque.

CM Sarma accused the private university of being responsible for the unprecedented water-logging in Guwahati.

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Meghalaya CM Sangma said he had a conversation with his counterpart regarding the university issue and both decided to constitute a joint committee with officials from both the states that will look into the concerns Sarma has raised.

CM Sangma said the committee will hopefully be able to resolve all the issues. The Chief Secretaries of both the states are now in touch in order to constitute the committee.

After the large-scale water-logging in Guwahati on August 5 that brought the city to a standstill, CM Sarma accused the varsity of engaging in a ‘flood jihad’ by massive earth cutting on its campus for the construction of new buildings which he claimed led to the water-logging in the city. The university is located on the Assam-Meghalaya inter-state border on the outskirts of Guwahati.