Assam Chief Secretary asked officials to remain alert round the clock. guwahati news
Guwahati: Assam Chief Secretary Ravi Kota on Monday conducted a comprehensive review after torrential rains caused artificial floods in Guwahati. He asked the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority and the Water Resources Department to be on 24×7 operational alert to deal with waterlogging in sensitive areas of the city.Keeping in mind the past incidents including last year’s landslides, the district administration has been directed to remain on high alert in sensitive areas and ensure coordinated response, mitigation and relief.“The National Highways Authority of India has been directed to ensure that the concessionaires are available round the clock for cleaning cross-drainage culverts, operating pumps and removing silt deposited after waterlogging. The major stretches identified include Teteliya-Jalukbari, Excel Care-Gorchuk, Koinadhara-Tripura Road and Jorabat-Khanapara, a government release said.The Public Works Department (Roads) has been entrusted with the task of completely desilting the drains and preventing recurrence of waterlogging. Strict instructions have been issued for immediate, time bound dredging, desilting and cleaning of all drainage channels. “Any lapse in preparation, maintenance or response will invite accountability,” the release said.
A year later, the line remains dangerously thin.There has been a little change in Pahalgam Civil Hospital. Medical care is still conducted within five cramped rooms. Doctors consult outpatients while paramedics confine themselves to X-rays and ECGs. Outside, three ambulances – an increase of exactly one vehicle since the massacre – are parked on a strewn lawn. When it rains, the ground turns into mud, blocking the entrance.The tragedy forced serious reforms. As reinforcements arrived from across South Kashmir, staff pulled the beds into a hollow, unfinished three-storey building next door. They used a hall shell to pile the dead. Today, that building remains a concrete structure, held up by bureaucratic gridlock, while the primary clinic struggles to breathe.The limitations of the facility belie the scale of its responsibility. Pahalgam is not a sleepy village. It is a global destination and spiritual gateway. In 2024, Pahalgam hosted 11.9 lakh tourists and more than 5 lakh Amarnath pilgrims – many of whom required treatment for high-altitude illnesses. The hospital also serves 2 lakh residents of the area.A 2021 plan to upgrade the site to a 50-bed sub-district hospital exists only on paper. Sanctioned staff posts are lying vacant. The skeleton team – a surgeon, an anesthetist, a gynecologist, and seven paramedics – regularly referred critically ill people to the Government Medical College in Anantnag, miles away.Delay is a game of finger pointing. Health officials blame the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department for the slow pace of construction. R&B officials claim that they are facing a loss of approximately Rs 4.3 crore. “We’ve added another floor,” said an R&B executive. “Construction of the lift and internal work is pending. If the health department releases funds, we can commission the building within six months.”As another tourist season approaches and the Amarnath Yatra approaches, Pahalgam’s primary protection against tragedy remains five rooms and a promise. The hall that once held 26 bodies is still empty, waiting for paint and electricity that never came. For now, the urgency of that April evening has been replaced by the slow rot of neglect.
Representative Tom Emmer led the charge by calling him a “complete fraud” and calling for his removal from Congress, suggesting that he should be held fully accountable if the initial discrepancies benefited him personally. The controversy stems from the large difference between her original filing, which estimated her assets to be between $6 million and $30 million, and a newly amended report that puts those assets at a much lower range of $18,004 to $95,000.Omar’s office defended the Congresswoman, insisting she was not a millionaire and blaming an accounting error for the huge discrepancy. His legal team said the error was unintentional and caused by relying on professional accountants to handle complex calculations. He says the correction was done voluntarily as soon as the mistake was identified and nothing illegal happened. Despite these clarifications, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is pushing for an investigation, citing concerns that the original, inflated valuations of her husband’s businesses may have been used to attract unnamed investors.The redacted financial documents provide a detailed look at the Minnesota Democrat’s financial situation, showing income between $102,503 and $1,005,200 for 2024. These figures are balanced by significant debts, including student loans and credit card balances that reach $50,000 each. Earlier filings valued her husband’s venture capital firm and winery in the millions. But updated versions list these interests with no net worth after taking into account liabilities. Omar has dismissed the Republican attacks as a politically motivated “stunt” aimed at fundraising, while maintaining his innocence in relation to any other fraud allegations.
