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Water Resources Dept incurred loss of around Rs 3,000 cr

By AJIT PATOWARY

GUWAHATI, Sept 22 - During the current flood season, the State Water Resources Department (WRD) has incurred a total loss of around Rs 3,000 crore due to the damages caused to its infrastructure by the two waves of flood. Sources in the WRD told this correspondent that the total monetary value of the damages has been found to be precisely Rs 2,999.27 crore.

During the flood season this year, the floods caused 26 breaches in the WRD embankments. During the first wave of flood, 20 breaches occurred in the embankments. The monetary worth of the loss caused by these breaches to the embankments has been found to be Rs 125 crore.

Besides, the monetary worth of the damage caused to the embankments (other than the breaches) and other flood control structures and recoupment of the damage to bank stabilization works, etc., during this wave of flood has been found to be Rs 1,672 crore. Thus, the monetary worth of the total loss to the WRD infrastructure during this wave has come out to be Rs 1,797 crore, official sources said.

During the second wave of flood, six breaches occurred in the WRD embankments. The monetary worth of these breaches has been found to be Rs 135.22 crore. The monetary worth of the flood-induced damages to the embankments (besides the breaches) and other flood control structures and recoupment of damages to bank stabilization works, etc., has been found to be Rs 1,067.05 crore. Thus, the monetary worth of the total loss during this wave stands to be Rs 1,202.27 crore, said the sources.

The total length of the embankments in the State is 4,474.42 km. The length of the embankments on the banks of the Brahmaputra is 1,023.89 km. The combined length of the embankments on the banks of the Barak and the tributaries of the Brahmaputra and the Barak is 3,450.53 km.

A survey conducted to assess the present status of the WRD embankments found that of the total length of 4,474.42 km of these embankments, 21.30 per cent is very sensitive, while 53.60 per cent of this length is sensitive and only 25 per cent of this length is relatively in a safer state.

However, since most of these embankments have outlived their lives, there is an urgent need to strengthen all of them. Under the Eleventh and the Twelfth Plans 809.79 km of the embankments have been strengthened.

Besides the embankments, the WRD has so far implemented 958 anti-erosion schemes, installed 98 main sluices and 545 minor sluices, among others, sources said.

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