Posted on August 22, 2017
The dredging of the Brahmaputra river will start soon as a move to find a permanent solution to the perennial flood problem in Assam.
A decision in this regard was taken at a high-level meeting, chaired by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and attended by top officials of central and state government here today.
“In course of the meeting, it has been decided to start the dredging of the Brahmaputra from Sadiya from September onwards and as many as five dredgers will be pressed into service for the mega project,” a state government statement said.
The floods in Assam claimed 10 more lives. Around 31 lakh people across 24 districts are bearing the brunt of the flooding.
The toll in the third wave of floods in the state has risen to 49. 133 people have died so far this year in flood- related incidents.
Todays meeting took up the construction of Brahmaputra Expressway threadbare and decided to rope in experts and manpower of Border Roads Organisation to build the expressway with the sand and silt dug-out through dredging.
The Assam government will submit the detailed project report for Brahmaputra Expressway soon. Chief Minister Sonowal requested the Brahmaputra Board to set up a unit in Majuli and upscale its manpower to tackle flood in the island as well as in the state.
In the meeting, the Director General of Brahmaputra Board informed that the Board decided to start three major projects upstream to protect the river island Majuli from the fury of flood.
He also informed that a Rs 237-crore road-cum-embankment project would soon be started in the southern bank of Majuli which would help check flood-induced damages in the river island.
The meeting was held as a sequel to the announcement of Prime Ministers Rs 2,000 crore package for Assam and the Northeast for relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and flood mitigation measures.
The package include Rs 400 crore for improving water carrying capacity of the Brahmaputra through dredging in its entire stretch from Sadiya to Dhubri.
Sonowal said the proposed dredging besides enhancing the water holding capacity of the Brahmaputra would help in increasing navigation besides revamping the communication on the proposed Brahmaputra Express Highway.
The chief minister also asked the central government to take up the repairing work of the National Highways in view of the deplorable road conditions.
Source: indiatoday
