Guwahati- Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday said the state government is taking measures to complete constructing embankments by the end of this month before the flood season begins in June.
The Brahmaputra and the Barak rivers, along with their more than 50 tributaries, cause floods in the state during the monsoon each year, official sources said. “The construction work could not begin on time this year due to COVID-19 but we are trying to ensure that the projects are completed on time so that people and their farming lands could be saved, Sonowal said after inspecting an embankment construction work in the Kaziranga National Park (KNP).
The embankment project, funded by the Asian Development Bank, would cover a total length of 23.38 km and with a width of 7.5 m would protect the KNP from floods and erosion.
Sonowal said the state government accorded top priority to protect the wild animals of the KNP during floods.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna held a review meeting on Wednesday on the state level flood preparedness with heads of line departments, an official release said.
The chief secretary took stock of the current status of vulnerable areas and measures taken by the respective departments to mitigate it.
A total of 39.58 per cent of Assam”s geographical area is flood-prone and more than one waves of flood ravage this zone almost every year, official sources said. PTI
