GUWAHATI, Aug 4 - In view of the devastating flood and erosion caused by the river Beki along its meandering course, Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi today held a meeting with the Additional Chief Secretary of Water Resources, Syedin Abbasi, CEO of Flood and River Erosion Management Agency of Assam (FREMAA) Siddharth Singh and other senior officials at Raj Bhavan here and reviewed the progress of implementation of different flood management programmes.
It may be noted that the Beki being a transboundary river, sometimes heavy downpour in the upper reaches causes this river to overflow, leading to large-scale erosion on both sides of its meandering course in the lower Assam districts of Barpeta and Baksa.
Taking note of this perpetual annual catastrophe caused by the river, Governor Prof Mukhi, who recently visited Baksa and Barpeta, today convened a meeting to review the progress of flood management programmes and chalk out a plan to help the people living alongside the river.
The Governor said that for finding out a durable solution of flood and erosion caused by the Beki, a study on the river in line with studying the course of the Brahmaputra, should be undertaken. He stated that a scientific study would help a great deal in taming the Beki and helping people from its flood and erosion.
In the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary Abbasi gave a power-point presentation and informed the Governor that�during the flood of 2004, there were avulsions in the river courses. The Hakua and Manas channel choked up at Mathanguri, necessitating the Beki to discharge more volume of water from the Mathanguri point onwards. Hence, the discharge in river Beki increased enormously and the�situation further aggravated during the flood of 2007 leading to downstream devastation, including a grave threat to the Manas National Park.
The Governor also assessed the progress of two schemes taken by the State government to check the critical erosion problem at Gamariguri and Barpeta Cattle Farm. Moreover, with respect to a project namely Integrated Flood and Erosion Management of Manas and river Beki in Baksa and Barpeta districts, the Governor took stock of the project and said he would pursue the matter with the Centre for its early approval.
It may be noted that the project envisaged anti-erosion measures at 25 locations and raising and strengthening of embankments for a total of nearly 17 km in Barpeta and Baksa districts.
