Dispur to develop 15 wetlands into reservoirs with Rs 692 crore funding to combat floods

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Assam Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika said on Friday that the Union Home Ministry sanctioned Rs 692 crore for the development of wetlands into reservoirs in the state to mitigate floods. He said that the initiative, under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, would be a ‘game-changer’ for Assam.

Addressing a conference here today, Hazarika said, “With these funds, we will develop 15 wetlands into reservoirs linked to rivers with sluice gates. To tame floods in the state, these 15 reservoirs aren’t enough. We need more such reservoirs. Several quarters in the state ridiculed Union Home Minister Amit Shah when he announced this idea. Now that scheme is going to be a reality. However, the North East Space Appliance Centre (NESAC) termed the idea as one of the solutions to floods.”

Hazarika said, “Assam had 4,500 km of embankments in the past. Under this government, we constructed 900 km more embankments with new techniques with an assured longevity of a minimum of 50 years for the embankments. The construction of embankments in the state will come to an end if we construct 150 km of embankments. Apart from these, we’re going to repair the ageing embankments with new techniques so as to prevent their breaches. That will make a flood-free situation in the state. We’ve reached such a stage with the state government spending around Rs 2,000 crore per year in the past four years. We repair breaches of embankments within 15 days now as against four to five months in the past.”

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