Assam: Rs 75 crore scheme to combat Brahmaputra erosion threat in Dibrugarh
DIBRUGARH: To save the Dibrugarh town from marauding erosion, a Rs 75 crore protection scheme was launched in the Mohanaghat area of Dibrugarh, Assam on Sunday.
The scheme to prevent a total of 7 km of erosion sites along Dibrugarh through NABARD Infrastructure Development Assistance (NIDA) was launched at Mohanaghat, Dibrugarh on Sunday.
Two spurs worth Rs 24 crore and Rs 27 crore will be constructed along with Geo bags worth Rs 16 crore and Rs 9 crore.
Speaking to reporters, Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan said, "We know that the Mohanaghat area has been facing erosion problem for the last couple of years. Today, the work to prevent the erosion has been started near the 8-number spar. After the completion of the work, the threat perception from the erosion will be less."
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"IIT-Guwahati has given us the advice and as per their advice, we have taken the measures to prevent the erosion. Three categories of Geo-bags and porcupine will be used to prevent massive erosion. IIT-Guwahati has done the survey and they have suggested us the method and we are following them," Phukan said.
The erosion has been hitting Dibrugarh town due to a change in the course of the Brahmaputra in the upper stream.
Earlier, the river current used to hit Dibrugarh's Rohmoria area but now it directly hit the town area causing erosion.
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In 2020, due to massive erosion, a total of six houses were washed away in the Mohanaghat area.
On the other hand, another project is being worked on in parallel to prevent erosion of the Asian Development Bank.
The great earthquake of August 15, 1950, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale altered the course of the Brahmaputra and lifted the bed level of the rover in Dibrugarh by several metres. As a result, the Brahmaputra bed now lies several feet higher than the ground level of Dibrugarh town. Most of the time, the Brahmaputra flows much higher than the ground level.