GUWAHATI, Aug 29 - A proposal of the State Water Resources Department (WRD) for improvement of the Brahmaputra dykes at an estimated cost of around Rs 4,500 crore is pending with the Central Water Commission (CWC) for its approval for the past about two years.
The Brahmaputra dykes measure around 1,000 km in length. However, some gaps are also there in these dykes, said highly placed official sources here today.
Of late, the CWC has asked the State WRD to carry out a model study for the purpose of implementing the latter�s proposal in this connection. But, the instruction of the CWC in this regard is somewhat ambiguous, sources said.
The State has 423 embankments on its rivers, including the ones on the Brahmaputra. Together, these embankments are around 4,474 km in length. Most of these embankments were built in the 1950s and 1960s. The State WRD has so far identified around 200 vulnerable points prone to breaches in these embankments, sources said.
Breaches: Altogether 26 breaches occurred on 19 embankments built and maintained by the WRD this year. These breaches measure around 3 km in aggregated length. Of these breaches, the one that occurred in the Hatimura portion of the Brahmaputra dyke in Kaliabor subdivision of Nagaon district in the morning hours of August 13 was a major one. The breach measured around 80 metres in length.
However, the Subansiri dyke in Majuli district was the worst affected among the dykes of the State this year. It suffered nine breaches, sources said.
This year, Lakhimpur, Majuli, and Dhemaji districts as well as Kaliabor subdivision of Nagaon district are the worst flood-hit areas in upper and middle parts of the State, in terms of the damage caused to the WRD, PWD, agriculture, irrigation departments� infrastructure, private dwelling houses, crop area by the flood.
Similarly, in the lower Assam areas, Dhubri and Mankachar are the worst affected districts, sources said.
