No proposal to build highways on banks of Brahmaputra: Nitin Gadkari

GUWAHATI: In yet another major embarrassment for the ruling BJP in Assam, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari today said there was no proposal for construction of highways on both banks of the Brahmaputra.

Answering a question from Assam Rajya Sabha member Ajit Kumar Bhuyan on whether there was any proposal for constructing the highways on both banks of the mighty river, Gadkari said: “There is no proposal for construction of highways on both sides of the river.”

To another question from Bhuyan about a proposed bridge over the Brahmaputra connecting World Heritage Site Majuli with Nimatighat in Jorhat district, the Union minister said: “A bridge with immediate south and north bank approaches over Brahmaputra river connecting Majuli to Jorhat in Assam amounting to Rs 925.47 crore has been sanctioned for which bids have been received.”

ALSO READ: The Transition Of Sarbananda Sonowal From Jatiya Nayak To ‘Jatiya Khalnayak’

Asked about any proposal for dredging the Brahmaputra, the minister said: “Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), an autonomous body, under Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways does maintenance dredging for shipping and navigation on National Waterways-2 (NW-2, River Brahmaputra). The dredging work is carried out on need basis for smooth navigation of vessels, particularly during the lean season (October to March) where width and depth of the navigation channel are less than targeted Available Depth (LAD).”

Coming to power in Assam in 2016, the Sarbananda Sonowal had stated that the Centre had taken an initiative to dredge the Brahmaputra to mitigate the flood and erosion problem. It was also stated that the Centre would construct two expressways on both banks of the river which would act as embankments. The roads were supposed to be built on the silt deposited on the banks after dredging of the river.

The state faces perennial floods during monsoons and the reason attributed for it is the swelling of the Brahmaputra riverbed following the earthquake of August 15, 1950.