In a positive development, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has asked the Brahmaputra Board — the Central agency dealing with flood and erosion in Brahmaputra Valley — to set up a permanent office in Majuli.
“As there is no office of the Brahmaputra Board in Majuli, anti-erosion and flood protection works carried out in the Island gets severely affected. A sense of alienation would always be there in the minds of the people of Majuli unless a permanent office of the Board is set up in Majuli,,” Sonowal said on Thursday.
The Brahmaputra Board is going to implement a project of Rs 207 crores for protection of Majuli from recurrent flood and erosion. The Island which used to be of 1,250 square kilometres of area in the beginning of the 20th century, shrunk to mere 352 square kilometres in 2014 due to erosion.
The Chief Minister said that the Board should set up a permanent complex which will house an office, a godown and a guest house so that officials could stay in Majuli and execute their work. He also asked the Chairman of the Board to employ local youth in the complex after empowering them with necessary skills.
The Chief Minister further instructed the deputy commissioner of Majuli to allot ten bighas of land for setting up the Board complex. Majuli used to be a subdivision till last year when the BJP led government came to power and converted it into a district.
Stating that any work implemented for anti-erosion and flood management will be successful only if the same is backed by proper survey, Sonowal directed the Brahmaputra Board officials to carry out an aerial survey for making a correct assessment of Majuli. He also informed that the state Water Resources Department and officials of all concerned departments will accompany the Board officials in the survey. The Chief Minister also advised the Board to engage only top class construction companies and contractors who have the capacity to carry out world class construction work.
Stating that the people of Assam and particularly, those from Majuli are very dissatisfied with the functioning of the Brahmaputra Board, the Chief Minister urged the Board to ensure quality in their works to dispel its negative image from the minds of the people.
The Board has been working to protect the island since 2004 from flood and erosion. The island has been witnessing large scale erosion and floods since 1950, when an earthquake, measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale, changed the course of the Brahmaputra. The board had been assigned with the task of working out projects to protect the island, keeping in view the magnitude of the destruction by the river.