Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

Brahmaputra can be tamed like Huang He

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Sept 13 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today told the Union Minister of State for Water Resources and River Development, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan that heavy siltation on the river bed substantially reduced water bearing capacity of the river Brahmaputra and in order to control flood, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries have to be controlled in line with the Huang He river of China.

Sonowal also said that the State Government has taken up the matter with the Dredging Corporation of India Limited to carry out dredging in Brahmaputra and its tributaries and sought Centre�s assistance. A comprehensive dredging on the Brahmaputra and its tributaries besides helping the State to negotiate with the flood and erosion successfully will create new vistas for Inland Water Transport and of course for the economy of the State.

Balyan, who is in Assam to assess the extent of damages caused by flood and erosion had a meeting with the Sonowal at Arunachal Circuit House at Mohanbari, Dibrugarh today and vowed to take steps for an effective and speedy solution of flood and erosion related problems in Assam.

Sonowal submitted a report highlighting the magnitude of damages induced by the waves of floods in Assam this year. He apprised the Union Minister of the flood-inflicted damages in Assam to the tune of crores of rupees. He also drew the Union Minister�s attention of the perennial problem of flood and erosion and their cascading effect on the lives and economy of the State.

Informing Dr Balyan about a World Bank expert committee�s report on the flow and current of the Brahmaputra which is very sharp and uncontrollable at times, Sonowal emphasised on using modern technology to tame the Brahmaputra to minimise its mayhem along the downstream. Sonowal also requested for the Centre�s financial aid along with other assistance to save the State from the recurrent problems of flood and erosion.

Dr Balyan said that the Centre accorded top importance to the flood and erosion and is dealing with it with utmost sincerity. He also said that Centre�s sincerity to deal with flood and erosion in Assam became evident when Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to visit the erosion hit areas and assess flood inflicted damages in the State.

Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta, Member of Parliament of Dibrugarh Rameswar Teli and several MLAs were present at the meeting.

Next Story