Sonowal Mulls to Develop Brahmaputra as Tourist Spot

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday inaugurated the preliminary survey of the ambitious Brahmaputra Express Highway. The project which will entail construction of two highways, each 840km long, on both banks of the Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri.

Chief Minister has handed over letters to 16 teams of field engineers to carry out land and morphological survey on both banks of the Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri. The teams will complete the survey in two months and submit the report to the state government.

“The Brahmaputra express highway will completely change the economic scenario of Assam and accelerate overall socio-economic growth. Once completed, it will be one of the most popular tourist destinations,” Sonowal said, adding, “The expressway will also solve the recurring erosion problem. The highways on both banks of the river will protect the Brahmaputra valley from recurring floods.”

He further added that dredging of the Brahmaputra will be carried out from Sadiya to Dhubri for which a detailed morphological and hydrological study is required. Sonowal had discussed the proposal during his meeting with Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on October 24 last year. Gadkari had assured Sonowal full cooperation from the Centre. “If we solve the flood and erosion problems, our economy will be strengthened.”

“From Sadiya till Neematighat, the river will be dredged up to 2 metres and from Neematighat to Dhubri it will be dredged to 2.5 metres. Sand and sediment collected from the dredging will be used in construction of the highways. In fact, the idea of using river sediment for constructing the highway was mooted by Gadkari. He has assured full cooperation from the Centre for the project,” informed CM.