GUWAHATI, June 1 � About 86 per cent of the Matmora Protection Project is completed and it is expected that continuous sunny days for a period of 15 days would help completion of the entire project. On the other hand, the Water Resources Department (WRD) is using one dredger to remove the sand bar, on an experimental basis, in the Nagaghuli area of the Brahmaputra in a bid to save Dibrugarh town.
Official sources said that around 600 geo-mattress of the Matmora Project remained to be laid on the riverside slope of the dyke, till yesterday. Of the around 1,500 apron tubes, only 500 could be laid till yesterday, between the toe of the riverside slope of the geo-dyke and the riverbank. It needs mention here that aprons of two different lengths�12 metres and 16 metres� are being used in the project.
Already 1,200 geo-tubes have been laid as the core of the geo-dyke and around 88 per cent of the earth work has been completed so far, said the sources.
The delay in executing the project is due to the almost incessant rains since March 22. The Brahmaputra has seen three waves of flood during the pre-monsoon season this year between March 1 and May 31. It is expected that the project could be completed if a rainless condition could be attained for 10 to 15 days at a stretch, said the sources.
While a WRD proposal worth Rs 2 crore is lying with the State�s Revenue Department for immediate measures to protect Mohanaghat area in Dibrugarh, the WRD is undertaking some urgent boulder works to protect the riverbank in this area. The boulder works include the ones like the launching of boulder- in- cage, in an around 300-metre-stretch of this reach of the riverbank, said the sources.
The around 50-year-old existing nine boulder spurs between Maijan and Mohanaghat also need to be strengthened and recouped. However, these structures are found to be effective so far. However, erosion in Mohanaghat area is not inviting any danger at this moment, said the sources.
The around 7-km-long Dibrugarh Town Protection Dyke built in the mid 1950s also requires its height to be raised, besides its entire structure being strengthened.
In the Nagaghuli area, erosion initially started in the end part of the 1980s. There was a proposal to build three boulder spurs in a stretch of around 2 km in the area with an estimated cost of around Rs 10 crore.
The Central Water Commission (CWC) cleared the project in 1991. But due to paucity of funds this could not be started expeditiously. In 1996, one spur was undertaken and it cost the WRC around Rs 10 crore due to price escalation and it could be completed in 2005 due to irregular flow of fund, said the sources.
Another estimate for the rest two spurs was sent to the CWC in 2006. The WRC has already launched boulder-in-cage measure and porcupine scheme to stabilise the riverbank in the most vulnerable portion of the Nagaghuli area, which comprises of an around 500-metre stretch. These works started since April 29 last and are still going on.
One of the two dredgers hired from the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is now pressed into service on experimental basis, to remove the sand bar that is thought to be pushing the Brahmaputra channel towards the bank in Nagaghuli area, since the last part of the last month.
Meanwhile, the Dibrugarh Town Protection Project is now included in the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-assisted project for protection of Dibrugarh, Bonkowal and Palasbari. The ADB-assisted project is expected to start in the next lean season subject to completion of official formalities, said the sources.
