GUWAHATI, Aug 10 - Members of the State Assembly cutting across party lines today made a strong pitch for long-term scientific planning and implementation to tackle the worsening problem of flood and erosion in Assam.
AGP legislator Ramendra Narayan Kalita, while stressing the need for dredging shallow riverbeds, said that such a move should be preceded by a thorough scientific study and assessment of diverse aspects of the fluvial processes, including silt deposition and land formation. He also emphasised on land reclamation.
BJP legislator Ashok Singhal, while stressing the need for establishing India�s water use on the Brahmaputra river system for thwarting the aggressive Chinese bid to monopolise its vast water resources, said that breaking the stalemate over the Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project and expediting its early completion would go a long way towards securing India�s legitimate water-use interests and meeting the power needs of a power-deficit region.
Singhal added that much of the protests over the Lower Subansiri dam were uncalled for and that adequate protective measures could minimise possible adverse effects of the project. �We have not used even a single per cent of the Brahmaputra�s water resources while China has made rapid strides vis-�-vis management of the river in Tibet,� he said.
Singhal said that a scientific management system of Assam�s rivers was a must to end the perennial problem of flood and erosion.
Legislator Bhuban Pegu said that big dams in the fragile upper reaches of the Brahmaputra undermining environmental and geological concerns would severely impact the interests of the people of downstream Assam, besides adversely affecting the health and ecology of the rivers.
Sherman Ali Ahmed of the AIUDF initiated the discussion during voting on demand for grants for the Water Resources Department. Those who took part in the deliberations included Wazed Ali Choudhury, Sahabuddin Ahmed, Nandita Das, Nazrool Haq, Immanuel Mushahary, Aminul Islam Laskar, Nurul Huda and Chakra Gogoi.
