KALAIGAON, July 21 - The All Bodo Students� Union (ABSU) has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to soon visit the flood-affected districts of BTAD in Assam and see for himself the level of devastation wreaked by the natural calamity.
In an official letter dated July 18 addressed to the Prime Minister, ABSU president Dipen Boro and general secretary Lawrence Islary urged Prime Minister Modi to formally declare floods in Assam as a national problem on an urgent basis and come up with a national policy to mitigate further ravages by the seasonal deluge.
ABSU also requested the Prime Minister to grant a special financial package of Rs 1,000 crore to the flood-devastated State of Assam, mainly for rehabilitation of displaced people and a special package from the Centre for construction of embankments and protection of major rivers from eroding their banks.
The ABSU leaders reminded the Prime Minister about the pressing need to initiate well thought-out anti-erosion measures in connection with the swift-flowing tributaries of the mighty Brahmaputra, besides other snow-fed rivers flowing down from the Himalayas, neighbouring Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.
Perennial river bank erosion over the years in the northern part of Assam, for example, including the entire Brahmaputra valley, had adversely affected the agrarian population as well as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, which have silently borne the brunt and in the process been denuded beyond redemption, they mentioned.
The ABSU leaders also mentioned about a few major rivers flowing through the BTAD. These rivers, namely Sankosh, Hell, Sarpang, Aie, Makra, Manas, Beki, Pagaldia, Suklai, Kalsi, Pasnoi, Puthimari, Dhansiri, Kabaru, Jiabharali, Burwi, Kukurjan, Holongi, Kokila, Sesa, Ranganadi, Subansiri, Ukhomatinoi, Patalguri, Germer, Tharajan, Jaidol, Simen, Saren, Lali, Siang etc., require urgent protection policy to protect the displacement of villages and damage to the agricultural lands, thus causing enduring harm to the agrarian population.
Among all these rivers, Aie, Manas,Beki, Pagaldia, Puthimari and Kalsi had induced massive flooding in the adjoining areas.The ABSU leaders also requested the Prime Minister to consider long-term pragmatic measures for protection of the unique flora and fauna of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, besides Manas National Park during the flood season every year.
Talking to this correspondent today, ABSU president Dipen Boro,who is a resident of Udalguri district, expressed his thanks to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for visiting the flood-affected villages of BTAD, as requested by the ABSU.
