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Brahmaputra dredging may lessen flood woes in State

By AJIT PATOWARY

GUWAHATI, April 17 - The proposed exercise to dredge the Brahmaputra river bed is mainly aimed at providing the river a navigable channel and thus developing it as a major waterway of the country. However, it is expected that this ambitious plan will indirectly help in doing away with the recurring problems of flood and erosion caused by the mighty river, highly placed official sources here said.

Elaborating, the sources said the project envisages creation of a deep channel of the mighty river by dredging its silted bed and building two express highways along its banks by using the silt and sand dredged up from its bed. The shallow river bed is considered as a major cause behind the recurring incidence of flood. The deep channel of the river is also expected to deter it from eroding its banks.

Again, the 1300-km long express highways proposed to be built along the banks of the river have been envisioned as all-weather roads and hence they are expected to be provided a height that is higher than the high flood level of the mighty river. Thus, they would automatically serve as embankments and prevent the river from flooding the countryside, sources said.

The State�s Water Resource Department (WRD) has, by this time, surveyed an about 300-km long stretch of the area proposed to be covered by the 1300-km long express highways. Survey of the rest of the area is expected to be completed shortly. For the purpose, the Department is deploying more manpower and using highly sophisticated equipment, sources said.

It needs mention here that a tripartite agreement was signed on April 4, 2017 at the closing ceremony of the five-day Namami Brahmaputra Festival by the State Government, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for dredging the Brahmaputra.

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