Pune-based body moots plan to tackle floods

DIBRUGARH, August 4: The Pune-based Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) has stated in an interim report that to arrest floods and erosion in the Upper Assam districts, the river Debang will have to be brought to its old course and the Ananta Nalla blocked at its offtake point near Hatighuli in Tinsukia district. Over the past several years, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries have been playing havoc with life and property in several Upper Assam districts. Among the worst affected by floods is the Dhemaji district and the worst erosion hit has been the Rohmaria area of Dibrugarh district. While lush paddyfields in the Dhemaji district now have a layer of three feet of sand and silt, the tea and rice rich Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts are now mute witness to the devastation caused by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries. While funds constraint is a problem with the Assam Government, nonetheless the state Flood Control Department has been writing to the Centre and Central agencies like the CWPRS to rise to the occasion and help the state in distress. On June 9 this year, the CWPRS wrote to the state flood Control department stating that under the given circumstances, the best way for a long term solution would be to redirect the Debang to its original course off Hatighuli, while the Ananta Nalla be blocked to prevent further erosion and flooding of areas downstream of Hatighuli, near Saikhowa. This is because the Brahmaputra is exhibiting a southward trend by creating a new stream in Ananta Nalla, and effectively transforming the Dibru Saikhowa National Park into a second Majuli in the making. While the letter of June 9 is interim in nature, the CWPRS has promised to send its detailed morphological studies report at an early date. The final report is getting delayed due to several factors, which include sluggish input feeding from the Flood Control engineers in Assam and a glitch in availing of satellite images from the Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA). However, with the bottlenecks now being thrashed out, it is expected that the final reports will come in from Pune sooner than later. This will open up the final hurdle, that of getting the funds to execute the works. Several technical persons, who know more than a thing or two about flood and erosion control in the unique context of Assam, told this correspondent of the things and projects they would like to see being executed. The believe that a check dam to close the offshoot of the Ananta Nalla at Saikhowa can save the whole south bank of the Brahmaputra from Dholla up to Dibrugarh from erosion. Temporary protection works at eroded patches can save agricultural lands at Hatighuli, Nepalibasti, Daisajan gaon, Katiagaon, Kaliapani, Motapong, Natungaon, Guijan and Rohmaria. Construction of semi-permeable spurs can save tea estates located along the Brahmaputra. Repairs to existing embankments by plugging holes created by rats, ants etc, to check leaks and seepage. With the Brahmaputra and its tributaries causing widespread damage to property worth thousands of crores of rupees and misery to thousands of people, any delay in taking the bull by its horn can only worsen matters, may be to a point where repairs become impossible. Too much of fertile agricultural land has already been lost to the river, any further loss would become unbearable, said the Dibrugarh MLA, KK Gogoi. He reiterated that to get solutions to such problems, one will have to move ahead as a team.