Shillong, Oct 3:Arunachal Pradesh Governor JJ Singh feels that the North Eastern Council (NEC) and the Department of North Eastern Region (DoNER) ministry can play a pivotal role in finding a lasting solution to the problem of flooding in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Meghalaya.
Speaking to reporters after meeting his Meghalaya counterpart in Shillong Raj Bhavan Wednesday, Singh felt the problem of flood in these states can be addressed by construction of scientific check dams in the river Brahmaputra to avert flooding in the low lying areas along its
course.
Singh, however, said, “There should be proper study done analysis and then steps taken to find long term enduring solutions to floods in Assam, low lying areas of Arunachal Pradesh (and Meghalaya).”
Singh said there should be regulated and control of flow of water caused by heavy rains causing floods by constructing such dams. According to him these dams should be constructed after thorough scientific surveys are conducted and constructed only where it is required.
Singh felt that a government’s organisation must be given the responsibility to look into the construction of these dam holistically and resolve the problem of flooding permanently. He said government institutions like the NEC and the DoNER Ministry should take the lead in the finding lasting solutions to the flood problems in the region.
On the opposition by the ngos against the construction of big dams, Singh said they (ngos) should be explaining today if dams would or would not help if regulated flow of water takes places during heavy monsoons.
In Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, several lakh people have been affected by the rising water of the Brahmaputra besides destroying agricultural produce and causing damage to the habitat of wild animals along its course.
In Meghalaya, 15,000 families have been affected by the back flow of the Brahmaputra in the past few days even over a lakh persons have been moved to relief camps.
Speaking about the threat of diversion of major tributaries of the Brahmaputra in China’s Tibet region, the former army chief said, “We must not be carried away by information which is not corroborated by facts on the grounds.” He said today the government is in a position to know whether a dam or an electricity project is being constructed after diversion of water by using satellite images.
Cautioning of such speculative reports, Singh said the same has also been done by us (India) in Kashmir and other places for the purpose of generating electricity. He informed that water is not stored (or divert it) but after the project, water joins the main river again few kilometers downstream.- By Our Reporter
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