Assam: Nine wetlands identified for flood water storage reservoirs

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Assam has initially identified nine wetlands to act as water storage reservoirs in times of floods, to minimize the floods. The reservoirs will store the excess flood waters of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.

Some time back, the Union Home Minister said that the non-perennial rivers are prone to more soil erosion and siltation, resulting in floods. Shah said that at least 50 large ponds in the Northeast should be constructed so that the water of the Brahmaputra River could be diverted and stored in those ponds. He said that this will help in developing agriculture, irrigation, and tourism in those areas at a low cost and also help in tackling the floods, and it will eventually benefit the local economy.

According to state government sources, the Water Resources Department has identified nine wetlands for water storage in Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Tezpur, and Majuli divisions. The four wetlands identified in Jorhat are Borsorola Beel (capacity 30 lakh cubic meters (cum), Sorola Beel (7.50 lakh cum), Potia Sorola Beel (3 lakh cum), and beel near Gelabeel (15 lakh cum). In the first three wetlands, the excess water from the Brahmaputra can be drawn into them. In the fourth, there is the Gelabeel River.

In Dibrugarh district, there is only one wetland identified. This is the Kawaimari Gaon connecting river Sessa. The capacity of the wetland is 30 lakh cum.

In Lakhimpur, there is a plan to divert the water of the river Subansiri to the Mudoibil area, with a capacity of 30 lakh cum. In Morigaon, the Moroisuti Tup area with connecting river Pokoria, with 28 lakh cum capacity, has been identified. In Tezpur, the Mora Bharalu wetland has been identified, with a capacity of 62.50 lakh cum.

River island Majuli is constantly battling floods, and an area called Tuni has been identified for the purpose of a wetland to store flood waters. The 1 sq km area has a capacity of 17 lakh cum. Many have questioned the efficacy of the floodwater reservoirs, but only time will tell if the initiative is successful.

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