Closing ceremony of the Brahmaputra Aamantran Abhiyan

A CORRESPONDENT

GOALPARA: The closing ceremony of the Brahmaputra Aamantran Abhiyan, the mighty red river expedition initiated by the Ministry of of Jal Shakti and organized by the Brahmaputra Board with the help of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh State governments, was celebrated in Goalpara on Thursday.

The adventure was flagged off by Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare, at Gelling, Arunachal Pradesh last year on December 23. The team successfully docked at the last destination point –Aasameralga- near the Indo-Bangladesh border of Hatsingimari Mankachar district on Wednesday.

The raft expedition was undertaken by a team comprising scientists, NDRF and other institution members with the supervision of Suhasini Shekhawat, the daughter of Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Shekhawat.

The month-long campaign titled as 'Living with the rivers' was aimed at sensitizing people towards the River Brahmaputra, which is a major river that enters India at Arunachal Pradesh and flows through Assam before entering Bangladesh where it merges with River Ganga and drains into Bay of Bengal.

"The expedition was initiated with two prolonged approach - public outreach focusing on the younger generation to inculcate the concept 'Living with the River' and to collect scientific data of water quality, river sediment, river bank erosion and fish habitat," said Suhasini Shekhawat in an interaction with the media persons.

"The nature and characteristics of the Brahmaputra River is totally different in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Moreover, the characteristics of the Ganges and Brahmaputra is also different in nature," added Suhasini, who also successfully undertook an expedition of 2,500 km in River Ganges in 2019.

Earlier, in the formal closing ceremony, Varnali Deka, Deputy Commissioner of Goalpara, highly praised the expedition team at their successful adventure. Rajiv Yadav, chairman of Brahmaputra Board, thanked both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh governments for the support they had extended and highlighted the rich aquatic life and water resources of the Brahmaputra River. He also encouraged the students to take interest in their own rivers, especially when the world was fighting with drinking water shortage.

Prof. Arup Sarma of IIT, Guwahati also focused on the different issues of river water in the same meeting. Mohan Koirala, assistant director of Brahmaputra Board, besides presenting the programme, gave the vote of thanks.

RS Gill, Commandant of the 1st Battalion NDRF spoke on the occasion, narrated the danger associated with in such adventure and congratulated the team for the dedicated and coordinated effort. Among others, PM Scott, vice chairman of the board was also present.

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