NAGAON, Oct 30 - State Water Resource Minister Keshab Mahanta today ceremonially laid the foundation stone of a power-operated sluice gate at the Hatimura dyke to make the Kolong river, the lifeline of the undivided Nagaon district, flow again from its source � the Brahmaputra.
The Kolong river had branched out of the Brahmaputra near Hatimura at Jakhalabandha ages ago, and, after flowing through various places, merged with the mighty river again near Kajolimukh in Kamrup district.
But, based on engineer KL Raw�s report, the Kolong was permanently closed at its source near Hatimura in 1962, and, since then, the river slowly turned into a stream flowing from two small fountains at Misa and Diju. Besides, from around the year 1970, the river was being rendered almost barren around 30 km from Jakhalabandha to Misa, due to which the old glory of the Kolong became a thing of the past,�with rampant encroachments compounding its agony.
The conscious people of the entire State, including noted litterateurs, have been appealing to the government since the year 2003 to revive the Kolong river and restore its old beauty.�In his speech, the minister said that it was the first step toward fulfilling this dream.�
The government has estimated a total of Rs 135 crore for the entire project. In the first phase, the government has sanctioned Rs 11 crore to construct the sluice gate at the Hatimura dyke.
MLAs Rupak Sarma and Dimbeswar Das, Nagaon DC Kabitha Padmanabhan, Kaliabor SDO(Civil) Bitupan Neog, the Additional Chief Secretary of Water Resource Department Syed Abbasi, the Chief Engineer of the Water Resource Department B Rongpi, and other officials of the department were present in the ceremonial function.
