Minister Pijush Hazarika stresses innovation and new ideas to tackle flood and erosion

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: State Water Resources Pijush Hazarika on Sunday attended the first day programme of the two-day long workshop organized for engineers of the Water Resources Department of the State and took stock of all the technical activities being carried out in the State to prevent floods and erosion.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the two-day workshop, Hazarika said that a two-day seminar with all the technical officers of the Water Resources Department had been organized on the directions of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He said that the techniques being carried out to prevent floods and erosion in the State would be discussed and it would be considered whether such techniques could be reshaped with the help of new innovative technologies. The minister said that the experience of engineers and knowledge of new techniques of new engineers would be discussed in the two-day workshop to improve departmental techniques by combining the two.

On the other hand, while visiting various parts of Assam for the last two years as the Minister of Water Resources, he felt that the primary requirement for the department is to have complete handy information on all the embankments in the state. Stating that an embankment built in the 1960s cannot remain equally active in 2022, the minister said that it was very important to have complete data on all the embankments in the State. He also said that the nature of floods in the State changes every year for which the department needed to have an active research team.

Pointing out that there is always a need to give importance to innovation in the field of departmental work, the minister said that the department was comparatively successful in controlling flood in the Morigaon and Dhemaji districts during the last monsoon. The minister also mentioned that the department had been able to prevent large-scale erosion at Nimati Ghat in Jorhat by using geo bags as well as porcupines together.

Hazarika spoke about constructing sluice gates in low-lying areas at a specific distance of the embankment. Later, while attending the technical sessions of the workshop, the minister took stock of the new concepts of flood and erosion control from engineers of all the zones of water resources department. As several new engineers presented ideas of their new techniques, the minister directed the department to use these concepts on an experimental basis. The minister urged the Chief Engineer to use the concept on an experimental basis when a young engineer gave the idea of using an organic material to enhance the quality of the soil used for embankment.

The minister said that if such meetings of all the engineers of the department were held at regular intervals, the departmental works would be able to get a new shape in the demand of the changing times.

Today's opening ceremony of the two-day workshop was also attended by Nat Oberhazem, international water resource management and river engineering specialist and Dr. Rajiv Bhattacharya, Professor of Flood and Erosion Management, IIT Guwahati. Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Assam, S. Abbasi, Chief Executive Officer of Flood and River Erosion Management Agency (FREMAA) Dr. Jeevan B and Chief Engineer, Water Resources Department and all engineers were present in the workshop.

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