A novel approach towards managing floods and erosion in the river Brahmaputra and increase livelihood opportunities and income of local people was adopted at a meeting here today.
The method was discussed in the meeting attended by representatives of the Union Water Resources Ministry, Assam Water Resources Department, IIT-Guwahati, Assam Engineering College, the World Bank and the local riverine communities, an official release said.
Recurring floods and riverbank erosion in Brahmaputra and its tributaries have been posing a serious problem for Assam causing devastation to crops, people and materials every year hampering human development and economic growth, the meeting noted.
Union Water Resources Development Additional Secretary Amarjit Singh, who is here to develop specific initiatives that promote people-friendly development in the river basin, recommended use of vast water resources and sediments load to develop income generation opportunities for the people.
Focus could be laid on areas like eco-tourism, fisheries,high-value agriculture, inland water transport, trade,hydropower, and environment-friendly construction technologies, the release quoted Singh as saying.
