The flood situation in Bihar, Assam and other northeast states has turned worse with the death toll rising to 46 on Tuesday. Bihar and Assam have been the worst hit with nearly 68 lakh people affected
The stretch of the Indo-Bangla border road project executed by the State PWD would be completed by May 15, said State Assembly' Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Brindaban Goswami quoting the PWD authorities, here on Wednesday. The State PWD is executing the project in a stretch of 206 km. However, six kilometres of this stretch have been eroded by the Brahmaputra and the Gadadhar rivers. The PWD has so far completed execution of the project in a 191 km stretch, Goswami said while addressing the media persons here.
The Ministry of Power is considering two options including the proposal to construct a bridge over Brahmaputra river connecting Sadiya and Dhola in Assam, as part of the Dibang Multi-purpose Hydroelectric Project. The Ministry of Power has submitted a proposal to the Public Investment Board (PIB) for the Dibang Project in Arunachal Pradesh indicating two alternatives, said Minister DoNER, Mani Shankar Aiyar in a Lok Sabha reply to a question by Dr Arun Kumar Sarma. The first alternative covers external roads and bridges including construction of a bridge over Brahmaputra river.
The Centre proposes to deploy four Cutter Suction Dredgers (CSD) and a Hydraulic Surface Dredger (HSD) on Brahmaputra river in addition to the ones currently operating. Four more CSD and one HSD units are under construction for deployment in the Brahmaputra River National Waterway, said Union Minister for Shipping, TR Baalu.
Today was Earth Day, but a vital part of Assam's natural landscape had nothing to rejoice amid the customary functions and meets. Missing from the Earth Day celebrations was any information about the status of the region's wetlands, even though they sustain large communities and play a major role in environmental security.
Time to check salinity intrusion in the Sundarbans Mohammad Asrafur Rahman Sundarban Mangrove forest of Bangladesh covers an area of about 6017 sq. km which is 62 percent of its total area whereas other 38 percent is situated in the West Bengal province of India. The average elevation from the mean sea level varies between 0.9 and 2.1 m. The rise in sea level and availability of less fresh water particularly during winter will cause inland intrusion of saline water.
The ambitious North East Water Resources Authority (NEWRA) may be gasping for breath but not dead.
The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) has denied having received any report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) experts on the flood and erosion problems of Assam.
No matter all the huge efforts put together by experts and stake holders, proper management of the water resources of the State, including the Brahmaputra, will be a distant dream unless political willingness is accommodated in the water management initiatives. This observation was made by the Non Resident Indian Association of Assam, which has urged all the authorities concerned to take a serious approach to managing the enormous water resources for speedy economic development of the State. In a seminar organised by the NRI Association of Assam recently at its office premises in the city, water resources engineering expert of Texas, USA and hony adviser of river linking project initiated by the Government of Assam, Barada Charan Sarma stressed on the need for political willingness to resolve the problems created by the water resources. He dwelled at length on ways for solution of the devastating flood and erosion problems of Assam, and boosting development activities like power generation by utilising the vast water resources of the Brahmaputra. "To achieve these goals we all should understand that political accommodation will be necessary with regard to the development of the Brahmaputra,' he remarked. Members of the Association who took part in the seminar narrated their experiences verging on the nightmarish at the time of a smart downpour in the capital city. Earlier, Dr Karuna Sagar Das, general secretary of the Association explained its aims and objectives and expressed the NRIs' keen interest to be a part of the welfare activities of their homeland. The seminar was presided over by Dr Anil Ranjan Borthakur, president of the Association.
