GUWAHATI, Nov 6 ? The Assam Government has placed a demand for taking up of short, medium and long term measures for controlling the fury of floods before the task force constituted by the Prime Minister to suggest measures for dealing with the problem and according to an estimate, an amount of Rs 517 crore would be required for immediate repair of the damages caused to the flood control structures.
Official sources told The Assam Tribune here today that three sub groups of the task force have been constituted to facilitate proper compilation of information within the stipulated time frame and the first sub group, entrusted with the task of dealing with the problem in Assam and the neighbouring States, headed by MK Sharma, Member (River Movement) of the Central Water Commission, paid its first visit to the State at the end of September this year to hold talks with the officials of the concerned departments and other agencies.
The members of the sub group are scheduled to visit the State later this month to finalise its recommendations to be incorporated in the report of the task force, sources added.
In the meeting with the sub group members, the State Water Resources Department gave a detailed presentation regarding the devastation caused by floods and the issue of devastation caused by water gushing down from the neighbouring countries and States was also raised. The devastation caused by the faulty design of the Kopili project was also taken up, sources added.
The short-term measures demanded by the State Government include immediate steps to repair the damages caused to the flood control structures by devastating floods this year. Sources said that an amount of Rs 517 crore would be required to repair the damages caused by floods. This year alone, 336 breaches of the embankments occurred in different parts of the State and those need to be plugged immediately. The damages caused to the anti-erosion structures and town protection works also need to be repaired on priority basis.
The medium term measures demanded by the State Government include fortification of the entire embankment network to provide sufficient protection to the flood-prone areas, protection of the towns threatened by erosion, river training works, etc.
The medium term measures suggested also include steps to mitigate flood damages like proper forecasting, construction of raised platforms to provide shelter to people during high floods etc. The medium term measures proposed to the Task Force would require at least ten to 15 years.
The long-term measures suggested include construction of reservoirs at the upper reaches of the tributaries of the Brahmaputra. Water Resources Department officials said that the people should not be apprehensive of construction of large dams just because Assam is located in zone V of the seismic map as technology for construction of dams in earthquake prone areas is now available and the only hitch is that the cost of construction would go up considerably.
It may be mentioned here that the Task Force has been directed to submit its report with recommendations by January next year and if the sub group can finalise its recommendations within this month as scheduled, the Force would be able to submit the report to the Prime Minister?s office within the stipulated time.