Water Resources Department resumes 48 work on embankment schemes

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Water Resources Department has resumed all the 48 works that got halted owing to the two earlier lockdown phases. These projects pertain to repairing, reconstruction and protection of critical and vulnerable embankments, closing of breaches, pro-siltation and anti-erosion measures across Assam under the 'State Owned Priority Development Flood Damage Repairing' (SOPD FDR) scheme.

Already the department has lost more than 30 days of this working season. Even now, the department is facing hurdles in picking up pace with respect to these schemes due to the government's guidelines on COVID-19.

Now the rainy season has already started. If these departmental schemes are not completed at the earliest, the masses may have to face the brunt of seasonal floods that usually arrive in the fag end of June and the early part of July.

Talking to The Sentinel, Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta said, "Though the Department has resumed the embankment works, the seasonal rains are posing problems. Besides, the contractors have been employing a very limited number of labourers due to the COVID guidelines. If we could have carried out the works as per the original schedule, these schemes would have been completed by now. Now, we've directed the contractors to complete the pending anti-flood schemes within 15 to 20 days."

Following last year's (2019) floods when many embankments got damaged, the State government allocated approximately Rs 607 crores under SOPD FDR for the mentioned schemes. The affected 22 districts are Barpeta, Baksa, Biswanath, Cachar, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup (M), Karbi Anglong, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nalbari, Nagaon, Sibsagar and Sonitpur.  

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