Forum demands erosion-control measures at Hatighuli in Tinsukia district

A CORRESPONDENT

DOOMDOOMA: The Dibrugarh - Tinsukia District Flood and Erosion Resistance Struggle Forum, under the leadership of its president Binod Kedia, visited Hatighuli near Canpas eco- tourism camp near Dholla in Tinsukia district recently, where erosion caused by the River Brahmaputra is going on unabated. The Forum expressed dissatisfaction at the anti-erosion measures taken by the Water Resources department.

Unabated erosion is taking place just 40/50 meters away from the Saikhowa protection dyke. So the Forum demanded of the government for taking up urgent measures before the next rainy season to resist erosion. Else, it will be difficult to protect the dyke, they said. In their attempt to find out the cause of such heavy erosion there, the team visited the upstream and to their utter surprise, found that this time it was River Dibang, another tributary of the Brahmaputra, which was changing course by flowing in between Lalbil chapori and Badamotapur so as to push downward the joint flow of Lohit and Na-Dihing rivers there to cause heavy erosion at Hatighuli.

According to the Forum, River Dibang changed its course before also. But because of an embankment constructed there by the Brahmaputra Board in 2015, the ferocity of erosion was reduced to a great extent and now the current erosion site is just half a kilometre away from there on the west. The team could witness the action of the new course of the River Dibang whose flow was directly hitting at Hatighuli, rendering the 4-km long existing dyke vulnerable there.

The Forum expressed dissatisfaction at the repairing work of the dyke situated in the Bahbari area. According to them, the dyke being repaired with sand and silt would not be strong enough to resist the strong current of a fast flowing river like Dibang. They further alleged that because of the inaccessibility of the dyke site, the contractors were taking advantage of the situation to do the job perfunctorily. So, the Forum demanded that the repair work of the dyke should be undertaken under the direct supervision of the departmental engineers so as to make it strong enough and to take steps to restore the original course of flow of the Dibang River by adopting scientific methods.

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