RANGIYA, Dec 24: The government has agreed to take preventive measures to close the back flow of the Barnali river at Gawgaon near Nagrijuli in Nalbari district and to redivert its course through the original channel. The Brahmaputra Board will take up this work after obtaining the clearance from the State Government, according to Ms Bijoya Chakravarty, Union Minister of State for Water Resources. The work will be completed by April 2001, for which Military Engineering Services will be entrusted to expedite the construction work within the time limit. The Brahmaputra Board will bear the entire cost of the project undertaken by the government. An amount of Rs 27 lakh has already been sanctioned. All bridges over the Puthimari and the Baralia rivers in Kamrup district will be repaired before the advent of floods.

A divisional office will be set up at Rangiya to prevent the floods in the Rangiya subdivision and Tamulpur Circle areas.

KAMALABARI, Dec 23: Normal life was paralysed in Majuli Subdivision on Thursday by the 12th hour Majuli Bandh called by the Majuli District Youth Congress (I) in protest against initiation of the construction work of the boulder-spar to protect the Hatishal Neamati area from the erosion of the Brahmaputra without taking adequate steps simultaneously to protect Majuli from erosion by means of a parallel boulder spar on the north bank.

GUWAHATI, Dec 19: Assam Flood Control Minister Promode Gogoi visited the Hydraulic Model Laboratory Complex situated at Basistha on December 16 to take stock of the model testing for "anti-erosion measures to be taken up for the protection of Hatisal-Neamati" located on the outskirts of Jorhat town from the erosion of river Brahmaputra. He was accompanied by Secretary to the Government of Assam (Flood Control Department) Kanak Chandra Sharma and Chief Engineer Prafulla Chandra Hazarika.

GAURIPUR, Dec 16: Flood relief materials for the erosion and flood victims were distributed to the beneficiaries by Indian Red Cross Society, Assam, in collaboration with Indian Red Cross, New Delhi, and International Federation of Red Cross, Dhubri district branch, under Flood Relief Operation, 2000, in the premises of Dak Bungallow, Dhubri on December 12. Altogether 500 beneficiaries of Dhubri and Mankachar-Hatsingimari sub-divisions were provided relief materials. The relief materials included one piece of turpolin (polythene sheet), bucket, kitchen set and mosquito nets. Sri Dinesh Boro, Extra Assistant Commissioner, Dhubri, Sri Nazrul Islam, honerary secretary, Dhubri District Red Cross, Sri Gunjan Pathak, Medical and Health Officer, Dhubri and the volunteers of Red Cross Society were present in the programme. Sri Nazrul Islam, honorary secretary, Dhubri District Red Cross, told the mediapersons that two mobile medical units (one van and a boat) were operated in Dhubri district and it regularly organises free health check-up and medicine-distribution camps in interior, remote villages which has no access to modern health care facilities.

GUWAHATI, Dec 9: Relief materials were distributed to the flood-affected people of Rangia Sub-division recently, stated an official press release. In a meeting held on the occasion, about 500 people were provided relief materials by the Assam branch of Indian Red Cross Society in collaboration with the International Federation of Redcross.

Mr Marc Roose, a delegate of International Federation of Redcross, who was the chief guests, distributed the relief materials among the flood-affected people of the Sub-vision.

Mr Jogesh Chandra Pathak, Sub-Divisional Officer (C), Rangia, presiding over the meeting expressed his gratitude to Mr Roose and the Assam branch of the Indian Redcross Society for the invaluable assistance to the flood affected people of the Sub-division.

JORHAT, Dec 7: With the on set of rainy season people become vociferous about erosions, breaches and weak spurs of the embankments, in Assam. But they remain completely silent about this during the winter season. Nobody bothers to know whether the weak embankments likely to breach have been repaired, whether the embankments threatened by floods at vulnerable points have been raised high or the eroded portion towards riverside have been filled with earth, or not. The department concerned becomes totally oblivious of the dilapidated spurs. The river side people and various organizations which always ready remain to sympathise the flood affected people also do not care to visit the vulnerable spots and urge the E and D department for speedy repairing of the bundhs. The department remain idle in the winter saying that the Government has not approved the schemes submitted earlier for construction and repairing works of the embankments. The E and D department of Jorhat district thus informed The Sentinel, when asked about the overall conditions of the bundhs and embankments in the riverine areas. The works of the proposed bolder spur from Hatisal to Dainigaon has not been started for want of necessary money from the Government. Similarly there is no progress of work to prevent erosion at Nimatighat area. The weak positions of the embankments by the bank of Bhogdoi river have not been repaired due to paucity of fund. Even the small portions of the embankment remain unrepaired on the pretext of Government's delay to sanction funds in time. On the other hand the contractors of Flood control department have not received payment of several crores of rupees for their previous works. They now do not go to the engineers seeking new works of construction and repairing. They have decided not to start any fresh work if the payments of their long pending bills are not made. The Contractors Association of Jorhat has informed that many contractors of Flood Control department are now bankrupt.

JORHAT, Dec 5: The shifting of the branches of the Xatras from river island Majuli is going on. The continuous erosion and floods in the area has compelled the xatra authority to shift the branches to some other safer places. Although the original centres of the xatras have remained intact at Majuli, the Auniati Dakhinpat and other xatras have established their branches at Jorhat and some other places in the district. A section of devotees of Titabar Bartara village under Jorhat district laid the foundation of the Namghar of Bhogpur xatra on November 30. Bhaba Kanta Goswami, the Xtradhikar of Kamalabari xatra formally inaugurated the foundation work by lighting lamp.

However the Xatradhikar of Bhogpur xatra was not present at the inaugural function.

According to a local source the xatra has 23 bighas of land at Bartara. The Government has alloted the land for the rehabilitation of the Bhogpur xatra. Several prominent persons attended the function including the Deputy Commissioner of Jorhat district Mr Rabi Sankar Prasad.

Many of the 62 xatras of the river island Majuli have shifted their branches outside Majuli due to the heavy damage caused by erosion and flood of the Brahmaputra. It is worth mentioning that the disciples and devotees of xatras have been largely benefited from such shifting, said the local source. Many people have abandoned visits to Majuli for inconvenient and difficult communication.

NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (UNI): Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has assured a delegation from Assam that all possible steps would be taken to to contain the Brahmaputra which wreaks havoc recurrently in Assam threatening submergence of northern parts of Jorhat and Golaghat districts.

A Sangram Samiti delegation headed by its chairman Dulal Chanda Boruah meet the Prime Minister here recently.

Briefing reporters here, Mr Baruah said Water Resources Minister, Planning Minister and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman were also sympathetic to the plight of Assamese people due to continuous erosion of Brahmaputra's river bed which widens to 15 km during monsoon.

Mr Boruah impressed upon them the need to adopt scientific measures and examine the possibility of constructing dams to leash the ravaging river.