DIBRUGARH, Jan 24 - The Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today formally ordered conducting preliminary survey on Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri for the proposed dredging of the Brahmaputra and construction of the Brahmaputra Express Highway along both banks of the river and for undertaking other feasible developmental activities in the future.
In an inaugural function organised on the river bank near the Flood Control Room here today, the Chief Minister gave away the order copies to the group leaders (Field Engineers), who have been specially assigned with the task. The Water Resources Department has constituted 16 groups, comprising the Field Engineers of the department to carry out the surveys. Dibrugarh MP Rameshwar Teli, Minister for Water Resources Keshab Mahanta, and local MLAs of the region gave him company during the handing over of the order letters to the concerned 16 engineers.
The entire river survey has bee organised in two parts � land survey and morphological study. The land survey will be carried out along the alignment of the proposed Express Highway on both banks of the river.
The morphological study of the river shall consist of taking 120 river cross sections along the entire stretch from Sadiya to Dhubri.
�Information such as distance between the North bank and South bank of the river, number of channels, land eroded, number of sandbars and their size and various other patterns of the river will be documented during the survey,� Prasanta Dutta, Additional Chief Engineer, Assam Water Research & Management Institute, Research & Development Wing of the Water Resources Department told this correspondent. Minister for Water Resources Keshab Mahanta has asked the concerned Field Engineers conducting the entire exercise to submit the detailed findings within two months. The Chief Minister, in his speech, asked the Field Engineers to conduct the historic survey with utmost dedication, devotion and honesty.
It is gathered that the comprehensive findings of the preliminary surveys will be helpful in preparing detailed modalities for the ambitious projects � dredging of the Brahmaputra, construction of the Express Highways along both banks of the river and for taking up other development projects like navigating big vessels for communication and trade and commerce. Brahmaputra was declared as the National Water Way 2 but due to its poor navigability, the benefits have not been reaped by the State. The Brahmaputra has 640 km length in Assam from Sadia to Dhubri.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal also simultaneously dedicated the 8.3 km portion of the Dibrugarh Town Protection Dyke during the function. The section, extending from Maijan to Mohannaghat with solar lights along the dyke and with black topped road, was constructed with an estimated cost of Rs 80 crores. The dyke was constructed under the Assam Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Project with funding from the Asian Development Bank. Flood and River Bank Erosion Risk Management Agency of Assam (FREMAA) implemented the project. The dyke has been raised to some six metres height from ground level, and has a top width of six metres.