Assam seeks help; plans to dredge Brahmaputra bed

After second wave of inundation, Governor apprises PM

Medical ocials on their way to conduct medical camp in Morigaon district of Assam on Friday.

Assam Governor Banwari Lal Purohit called on the Prime Minister on Friday to brief him on the latest wave of floods in the State.

Since the middle of June, the floods have wreaked havoc with 144 people killed, 2,970 villages submerged, 3.3 million people displaced and crops across 1.43 lakh hectares damaged.

Pointing out the scale of the devastation, Governor Purohit requested Mr. Modi to send a Central team to assess the damage.

Expressway long banks

Facing the worst floods in a decade, the Assam government has decided to start dredging and deepening the entire river bed of the Brahmaputra across the State from September.

As many as five dredgers will be used for deepening the river bed, starting from Sadiya in the north of Assam to Dhubri in the south.

The State Government has also decided to prepare a detailed project report to build a 725 km Brahmaputra Expressway along both the banks of the river with the sand recovered from the dredging.

“We believe it will not only improve the water carrying capacity of the Brahmaputra but also make the river navigable for bigger cargo ships. That used to be the case before Independence,” Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told The Hindu .

Assam government officials say heavy siltation has made the river bed shallow and reduced the water-carrying capacity.