Govt seeks funds for project to check floods

Assam has 4,459 kms of embankments along the Brahmaputra and most of its tributaries,of which 950 kms have been identified as “extremely vulnerable” and 2,390 kms “vulnerable”,said Pegu.

While there were 234 breaches during the 1988 floods,the breaches increased to 354 during 2004. The rivers caused 195 breaches in 2007,while the number of breaches caused in the two waves of floods this year has been put at 56.

The state water resource minister also appealed to Arunachal Pradesh to support Assam’s proposal to set up the North-East Water Resource Authority (NEWRA),so that there could be inter-state initiatives to manage the rivers.

Assam toll rises to 124

THE number of people who have died in the two successive waves of floods in Assam this year has risen to 124,while 17 remain missing. Over 1.56 lakh people have sought shelter in relief camps after the floods affected nearly 24 lakh people in all the 27 districts in the state.