Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today laid the foundation stone of the Assam Integrated Flood and River Erosion Risk Management Project at Jahirpur village in Gumi. The Rs 172.35 crore project at Gumi is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

After laying the foundation stone for the project, Gogoi said that the Gumi project would be another milestone in the controlling of erosion and flood problems in the State.

GUWAHATI: Continuing its support for rural infrastructure development in Assam, NABARD has sanctioned two projects to the Assam Government under RIDF-XVII for a total sum of Rs 138.34 crores. Under the two projects, a total of Rs 16.73 crore have been sanctioned for 5 rural road projects in Golaghat district while Rs 121.61 have been sanctioned for 102 rural bridge projects in 26 districts of the State.

JAMMU: The State Executive Committee headed by Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal today cleared ` 14 crore out of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for clearing the liabilities on account of relief

Collector visits the completed revetment wall and ramp at Punavasal village

Flood prevention works taken up along the Kollidam river in Thanjavur district by the Public Works Department (PWD) are nearing completion. The works were started in October 2010. Out of the total works taken up at a cost of Rs. 106.22 crore, works to the tune of Rs. 93.34 crore have been finished so far. The rest will be completed before the end of March.

The World Bank will provide a financial assistance of Rs 1,250 crore for minor irrigation schemes in West Bengal to help the state raise farm sector output, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said h

GUWAHATI: The All Assam Water Resource Contractors’ Association (AAWRCA) has expressed concern over the fact that although the monsoon season was only a couple of months away, the State Government had not taken any steps to control flood and erosion this year.

At a press conference in Guwahati today, AAWRCA president Muhi Bargohain alleged that the State’s Water Resource department had not taken any steps to repair all the embankments which were damaged last year.

India, Nepal to discuss setting up of Development Authority

In a major step forward to break the deadlock over construction of the multipurpose 6000-MW Pancheshwar dam on the Sarada river (Mahakali in Nepal) on the border, New Delhi and Kathmandu will discuss the logistics of setting up a Pancheshwar Development Authority at the first meeting of the Joint Ministerial Commission on Water Resources here on Wednesday.

The Union government has released a sum of Rs 868 crore to take up minor irrigation projects in the drought-affected taluks of the State.

The State government had submitted a proposal to take up about 493 different minor irrigation projects in 81 drought-affected taluks at a cost of Rs 685 crore. Of these, the Centre approved 404 projects to be taken up in five phases, Secretary to Minor Irrigation Department P N Srinivasachary said.