Assam chief minister on Thursday announced a slew of measures to stem the annual floods in the state that has claimed the lives of over 100 people this year.
At a meeting he held at the Assam Bhawan with several bureaucrats, as a follow up of the Prime Minister's relief package of Rs 2000 crore for the rehabilitation of the Northeast floods, Sonowal said that the Brahmaputra Board will set up a unit in the riverine island of Majuli. The director general of the Brahmaputra Board added that three major projects upstream will be started soon to protect Majuli from the fury of the flood. A road cum embankment project, of Rs 237 crore, will soon take off from the southern bank of Majuli.
It was also decided in the meeting that a national level conference, with experts from the ministry of DoNER, the ministry of water resources and the Brahmaputra Board and international experts, will be held in Guwahati in September to work out a solution. The Centre had earlier this year granted an assistance of Rs 100 crore to carry out a study for solutions to stem the flood.
Sonowal said that the dredging of the Brahmaputra will begin in September at Sadiya, soon after the flood waters subside. As many as five dredgers will be used along the entire stretch of the Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri to improve its water carrying capacity, the CM added. An amount of Rs 400 crore has been set aside for the project.
During the meeting, Sonowal also discussed the details of the Brahmaputra Express Highway, the expressway that is to be constructed alongside the river from the silt left from the dredging project. He said that experts from the Border Roads Organisation will be roped in and the Assam government is slated to submit a report on the development soon.
STRONG MEASURES
- Three major projects upstream will be started soon to protect Majuli from the fury of the flood.
- A road cum embankment project, of Rs 237 crore, will soon take off from the southern bank of Majuli.
- Dredging of the Brahmaputra will begin in September at Sadiya
- Rs 400 crore has been set aside for the project
