GUWAHATI, June 2 – More than floods, it is erosion that is posing a serious threat to Assam and according to an estimate, the State is losing land valued at Rs 300 crore a year due to severe erosion, particularly all along the south bank of the river Brahmaputra. Highly placed official sources told The Assam Tribune that the estimate of the loss was a very conservative one as the damage caused to different kinds of structures and crops were not taken into account while preparing the estimate. Sources also revealed that the plain districts of Assam already lost seven percent of the total land due to erosion over the years and if not checked immediately, erosion would pose a serious threat to the entire Brahmaputra valley in the days to come.
Sources pointed out that sedimentation of the riverbanks mainly due to deforestation is the main reason for erosion of the river banks and almost the entire southern bank of the river Brahmaputra is under threat. Official sources pointed out that early rainfall this year is also posing a serious threat of floods in the coming days and though the State Water Resources Department has taken up schemes to protect the vulnerable embankments, it would not be enough to deal with the situation. Commenting on the preparations to cope up with floods this year, sources revealed that the State has about 4460 kilometres of embankments, 685 erosion protection schemes and 85 major sluices. Most of these flood protection schemes were constructed in the 1960s and outlived their normal life span. Keeping those in good condition has become a tough task for the Water Resources Department facing a severe fund crunch. However, Department officials asserted that the flood control structures were not damaged due to structure design but due to erosion.
The Water Resources Department has taken up 243 schemes this year with Rs 74.70 crore sanctioned by the State Government from the calamity relief fund. Sources said that the schemes are at various levels of completion and the execution of the same was delayed due to early monsoon and the last Lok Sabha polls. Sources also pointed out that no new scheme can be taken up with the money released from the calamity relief fund and only the damaged structures can be repaired with the money. The Water Resources Department selected the priority schemes in consultation with the Deputy Commissioners of the concerned districts and the legislators were also consulted.
Due to early rainfall this year, 18 breaches of the embankments already occurred since April. Sources revealed that 14 of those breaches occurred in Cachar district, which faced severe floods last month, which even led to the postponement of the Lok Sabha polls in the Silchar constituency. Three breaches on the embankments occurred in Sonitpur district, while, one in Jorhat district since April this year.
Official sources revealed that 129 breaches on embankments that occurred prior to 2003 could not be plugged and 45 more breaches occurred last year. Sources admitted that though efforts have been made to plug the breaches in the vulnerable areas of the State with the available funds, more than a hundred breaches of the embankments are still open and there is little possibility of the same being plugged before the floods this year.