GUWAHATI, Sept 11 - Admitting that tributaries of the Brahmaputra, particularly those on the north bank, have been showing a peculiar phenomenon of sudden flooding, Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta today said the State government would ask IIT Guwahati to conduct a study on it.
During a zero hour discussion in the State Assembly, the minister said Arunachal Pradesh had witnessed 24 mm rainfall on Saturday which was not enough to trigger floods in the Jorakhor river which submerged dozens of villages in the Balipara-Chariduar area yesterday.
�The Jorakhor, during the lean season, is completely dry. There is no river at all,� he said, also pointing to a road work being carried out by the BRO in the area where the agency has constructed some very narrow bridges and culverts which were blocking the natural flow of water in the river. Some works carried out under the MGNREGA were also impeding the flow of the river.
He said over 20 schools, 43 Anganwadi centres, 24 roads, two wooden bridges, one RCC bridge, three hospitals and a water supply scheme have been affected in yesterday�s floods in the Rangapara-Chariduar area. A power substation has also been damaged cutting off power supply to the area and a team is on job to restore it.
Raising the issue, Sootea MLA Padma Hazarika said the sudden flooding in the north bank rivers is being witnessed since more than 14 years now.
�We need to see if the rivers are being dammed in the upstream areas or any other activity in the neighbouring state is affecting flow of the river waters. A committee is needed to study the matter and recommend preventive measures and permanent solution,� Hazarika said.
Earlier initiating the discussion, AGP MLA Phani Bhushan Choudhury said that more than 39 per cent of Assam�s total land area is flood-prone. �Nationally, 12 per cent of India�s total landmass is flood-prone. Assam�s flood-prone area is highest among all the states,� he said.
