THE ASSAM TRIBUNE ANALYSIS Date -20 August 2020

THE ASSAM TRIBUNE ANALYSISTHE ASSAM TRIBUNE ANALYSISDate Date -- 20 August 202020 August 2020

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CONTENTS

o Bangladesh priority country for COVID-19 vaccine: India

o Centre approves proposal for leasing LGBI Airport

Centre nod to National Recruitment Agency


o Centre nod to National Recruitment Agency

o 2021 Census unlikely to be completed before May next year

o Centre relaxes working capital norm for discoms to get loan

o CBDT chief meets officials to dispel doubts - Faceless tax administration

o PNB launches ‘Digital Apnayen’ campaign

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EDITORIAL

o Sankaradeva and Assamese Vaishnavism


o Sankaradeva and Assamese Vaishnavism

o Ravaging floods and people’s endless misery


Bangladesh priority country for COVID-19 vaccine: India

(General Studies-2: International Relations)

o Bangladesh will be a priority country in getting COVID-19 vaccine that India is producing,said Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla after meeting his counterpart in


said Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla after meeting his counterpart inDhaka today.

o Shringla said India is conducting stage III trials of the vaccine. “We are going toproduce COVID-19 vaccine on a massive scale,” he said,adding, India produces 60 percentof the world’s vaccine.

o “When the vaccine is produced, it goes without saying that our closest neighbours,friends, partners and other countries will be part of that,” he assured.


A Chinese medical team is currently working in Bangladesh helping it fight COV-ID-19 andhas sought per-mission of Dhaka to start tri-al vaccination in the country. The proposalhas been put on hold after India expressed its reservations.

On Tuesday, Shringla called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Sources saidthe meeting was successful and Dhaka ex-pressed its appreciation at the gesture insending someone to touch base, convey message and see how the two sides could


sending someone to touch base, convey message and see how the two sides couldtake their relationship forward.

Hasina expressed her gratefulness over the supply of locomotives by India. During themeeting several other issues where also discussed.

The issues were mutual partnership, enhancing connectivity, revival of economy postCovid, cooperation on Covid assistance, joint commemoration of Mujib Barsho, etc., sourcessaid.



A proposal on travel bubble for business, official and medical travel was also discussed inthe meeting as were the security related issues of mutual interest.

The Bangladesh Prime Minister spoke about the Rohingya issue and their possible saferepatriation to Myanmar, sources said.


India has been walking the tightrope with Dhaka ever since the Hasina governmentexpressed its disapproval and dismay over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NRC(National Register of Citizens) exercise in Assam.

Sources said the visiting Foreign Secretary explained Delhi’s position to Hasina that underthe CAA, India proposes to offer citizenship to Hindus of Bangladesh along with those ofPakistan and Afghanistan, who have been forced to flee their respective countries due toreligious persecution.


Centre approves proposal for leasing LGBI Airport

(General Studies-3: Economic Development)

Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport is being leased out to a privateplayer under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.


Announcing the decision of the Union Cabinet, Union Minister for Information andBroadcasting, Prakash Javadekar today said that the Centre has approved theproposal for leasing out three airports -Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram ofAirports Authority of India (AAI).

“The Union Cabinet accorded its approval for leasing of three AAI airports namely,Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram for Operation, Management and Developmentto Adani Enterprises Limited, after being declared as the successful bidder in a GlobalCompetitive Bidding conducted by the Airports Authority of India, for a period of fiftyyears,” said Javadekar.


o These projects will bring efficiency in service delivery, expertise, enterprise andprofessionalism apart from harnessing the needed investments in the public sector, headded.

o Meanwhile, official sources said that Government had leased out the Airports Authorityof India’s airports at Delhi and Mumbai on Public Private Partnership for Operation,


of India’s airports at Delhi and Mumbai on Public Private Partnership for Operation,Management and Development about a decade ago.

o Revenue received from PPP mode enabled AAI to create infrastructure facilities in Tier-2and Tier-3 cities and also to upgrade the airports to international standards.

o The PPP mode airports in India are consistently ranked among the top five in theirrespective categories by the Airports Council International (ACI) in terms of AirportService Quality (ASQ).


oTherefore, the Government decided to lease out more airports of AAI for Operation,Management and Development under PPP mode through the Public Private PartnershipAppraisal Committee (PPPAC).

oGovernment also constituted an Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) to decide on anyissue falling beyond the scope of PPPAC, said sources. PPPAC approved the transactiondocuments.


documents.

o The entire bidding process was carried out under the supervision and directions of EGoSwhich comprised of representatives of NITI Aayog, Department of Expenditure andDepartment of Economic Affairs of Ministry of Finance .


Centre nod to National Recruitment Agency

(General Studies-2: Governance)o The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved creation of a National Recruitment Agency

(NRA)to conduct an online Common Eligibility Test for selecting candidates for majority ofCentral government jobs, an official statement said.


o Briefing the media on the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,Information and Broad-casting Minister Prakash Javadekar said it was a historic decisionthat will allow job-seekers take one common test andsave costs and time spent on writing

multiple exams.

The NRA will set up examination centres in every district of the country to help youths,especially women, from rural and far flung areas of the country, as they won’t be requiredto travel to an-other place to take recruitment tests, the statement issued by thePersonnel Ministry said.


At present, “candidates have to appear in multiple examinations conducted by multipleagencies. Apart from the examination fees, candidates have to incur additional expenses fortravel, boarding, lodging. A single examination would reduce the financial burden oncandidates to a large extent”, it said.


A Common Eligibility Test would enable these candidates to appear once and apply to any orall of these recruitment agencies for the higher level of examination.

This would indeed be a boon to all the candidates, the statement said. On an average, 2.5-3crore candidates appear in each of these examinations, it said.

2021 Census unlikely to be completed before May next year

(General Studies-1: Indian Society)

The Register General of India (RGI) is likely to take a call on resumption of censusoperation in Assam along with the rest of the country very soon, although it is unlikelythat the 2021 Census exercise will be completed before April-May next year when the


that the 2021 Census exercise will be completed before April-May next year when theAssembly election in the State is due.

The population enumeration in Assam as part of the decennial exercise was originallyscheduled to get completed between February 9 and 28 next year.

Further, although the house listing and housing census was scheduled to be over by Maythis year, the entire process came to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic.



oSources in the Directorate of Census Operations told The Assam Tribune that the RGI inhis last meeting with the officials entrusted with the job of census dropped a hint that thedeadline may be extended by at least six to seven months, if not more.

oSources informed that nearly 1.5 lakh personnel will be engaged across the State for theworld’s biggest enumeration exercise.


world’s biggest enumeration exercise.

o“In Assam, although we have completed raining for on-field personnel, door-to-doorcounting along with training for enumerators/supervisors could not even get started due tothe pandemic,” sources said.

“The Government of India is expected to take a decision soon on this front after which theRGI will get in a discussion with all the stakeholders. From what we have gathered till date,the chances of census report getting published before the Assembly election in the State isvery bleak,” sources said, adding that under the existing situation, it would be virtuallyimpossible to mobilise the resources.

The census is being conducted under the Census Act 1948 and Census Rules 1990. Theexercise is done in two phases – house listing and housing census, and populationenumeration.

This would be for the first time in the 140-year history of census in India where the data isproposed to be collected through a mobile app.


proposed to be collected through a mobile app.


Centre relaxes working capital norm for discoms to get loan-

Rs 90,000-cr liquidity infusion scheme


The Centre today approved a proposal to give one-time relaxation in working capital limitnorm for discoms under the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) to get loans as part of


norm for discoms under the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) to get loans as part ofthe Rs 90,000-croreliquidity infusion scheme.

After the Cabinet meeting, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar in a press conference said,“Power sector has a problem. There is a slump in power consumption. The bills are not beingcollected by them.PFC and REC have been al-lowed to give loans above the limit... (of) morethan 25 percent working capital limit. This will increase liquidity of the State discoms.”

“The working capital limit is 25 per cent of last year’s revenue. Now, the limit is relaxed,”he further said.



oAccording to an official statement, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired byPrime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a one-time relaxation to Power FinanceCorporation (PFC)and REC Ltd for extending loans to discoms above limits of working capitalcap of 25per cent of last year’s revenues under UDAY.

oOne-time relaxation will help in providing liquidity to the power sector and ensure


oOne-time relaxation will help in providing liquidity to the power sector and ensurepayments by discoms, it added.

oThe COVID-19 outbreak and consequent nation wide lockdown have exacerbated liquidityproblems for the power sector.

oRevenues of the power distribution companies have nosedived as people are unable to payfor the electricity consumed, while power supplies, being an essential service, have beenmaintained.

Energy consumption has decreased substantially. The liquidity of the power sector is notexpected to improve in the short term, as economic activity and power demand will takesome time to pick up. There is, thus, an immediate need to infuse liquidity in the powersector for the continuation of power supply, it added.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in May announced the Rs 90,000-croreliquidity


Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in May announced the Rs 90,000-croreliquidityinfusion into cashstrapped discoms, facing demand slump due to the lockdown to containCOVID-19.

However, some of the discoms were not eligible for get-ting loans under the packagebecause they were not meeting working capital limit norm under the UDAY scheme.


o Under the UDAY, the banks and financial institutions are restricted to lend working capitalup to 25 per cent of a discom’s revenue in the previous year.

o The restriction was part of the UDAY scheme, approved in November 2015 by the Union


o The restriction was part of the UDAY scheme, approved in November 2015 by the UnionCabinet for the revival of debt-laden utilities.



CBDT chief meets officials to dispel doubtsFaceless tax administration


oThe government has assured income tax officials that implementation of the new facelessand contactless tax administration would not cause any large-scale movement of officers or


and contactless tax administration would not cause any large-scale movement of officers orofficials and all the changes would be done within the existing manpower preferably at theexisting locations.

oPrime Minister Narendra Modi last week launched the platform for ‘Transparent Taxation-Honouring the Honest’ that aims to ease tax compliance with faceless assessment, facelessappeal and a taxpayers’ charter.

oThe new system has raised fears that wide-scale digitalisation of tax administration mayresult in scaling down of man-power and job cuts.


oSources said that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) held an online meeting on Tuesdaywith officers and officials of the income tax department to discuss the national rolling out of theFaceless Assessment and Taxpayers’ Charter.

oAt the meeting, CBDT Chairman PC Mody highlighted the details and backdrop of the FacelessAssessment Scheme and Taxpayers’ Charter but also took care to remove doubts in the mind ofofficers on the reallocation and reorganisation aspects of the department’s manpower in wake of


officers on the reallocation and reorganisation aspects of the department’s manpower in wake ofthe proposed changes.

oHe told officers that Faceless Assessment Scheme’s implementation would not cause any large-scale movement of officers or officials and there would be no reduction in the existinginfrastructure and resources of the department.

oMody also elucidated that the changes would be done “within the existing manpower preferably at the existing locations” and sought to dispel all kind of misgivings and misapprehensions which may have been reflecting in the minds of the officers and officials of the department with regard to national launch of the Faceless Assessment Scheme. – IANS

PNB launches ‘Digital Apnayen’ campaign


o The nation’s second largest public sec-tor lender Punjab National Bank (PNB), during thecelebration of 74th Independence Day at its corporate headquarters in New Delhi, announced


celebration of 74th Independence Day at its corporate headquarters in New Delhi, announcedthe launch of PNB’s new and innovative digital campaign, named ‘Digital Apnayen’.

Announcing the launch of the digital campaign, CH SS Malikarjuna Rao, Managing Director &CEO of the bank, said ‘Digital Apnayen’ is an initiative to encourage customers to move todigital banking channels for their banking needs, a statement by the lender said here.



oUnder the campaign, the bank will contribute Rs 5 towards the PM CARES Fund on behalfof each customer conducting ‘first financial transaction’ to activate their RuPay debit cardeither on PoS or e-commerce platform, activation of AePS account through fund transfer,activation of AePS account through BHIM Aadhaar merchants payment, and activation ofUPI service, it said, adding that download and registration for UPI facility shall also beeligible for contribution.


eligible for contribution.

oTo be effective from August 15, 2020 to March 31, 2021, the campaign is envisaged toencourage customers to use digital channels and participate in the noble cause of donatingto PM CARES Fund for COVID-19, by PNB, the statement added.

EDITORIAL

Sankaradeva and Assamese Vaishnavism

(General Studies on Assam: Culture, Heritage of Assam)

Before the introduction of Assamese Vaishnavism by Sankaradeva, the religious


Before the introduction of Assamese Vaishnavism by Sankaradeva, the religiousenvironment of Assam was dominated by three popular forms of Hinduism. These wereSaivism, Vaishnavism and Saktism. Saivism or the worship of Siva was widespread and apopular religion of the country. Most of the earlier kings of ancient Assam were Sivaworshippers. Saivism was prevalent amongst the Aryan and the non-Aryan tribalpopulation with their own tribal rituals and customs. Animal sacrifices and offerings of winewere commonly practiced. The tradition of Devadasis or dancing girls was associated withthe Siva cult in Assam. Vaishnavism or the worship of Vishnu was per-formed through theuse of idols and had wide acceptance amongst the people. Surprisingly, Krishnaworshipping remained very insignificant and it was not the presiding deity of any temple inAssam.


Saktism, the cult of worshipping a female deity like Kali, Durga, Tara, Kamakhya, etc., waspredominant. The worship of Devi Kamakhya on the Nilachal Hills at Guwahati was the mostpowerful cult prevalent in the country. The chief scriptures ofAssam’s Saktism, the KalikaPurana was written in the 11th century; and the Yogini Tantra in the 16thcentury. Saktismwas practised comprising animal sacrifices and other esoteric rituals including virginworship. Though the Kalika Purana was written for the glorification of Devi Kamakhya, iteulogized Vishnu as the Supreme Being and tried to intermingle the two systems. The


eulogized Vishnu as the Supreme Being and tried to intermingle the two systems. Theblending of Saakta rituals with Vishnu worshipping led to the creation of tantricVaishnavism in Assam.

Apart from these three forms of Hinduism, Vajrayana Buddhism also flourished to a goodextent in the region. Vajrayana Buddhism was a mixture of Buddhist thoughts with tantricpractices of magic and the erotic. Nathism or the practices of various forms of yoga wasprevalent, wherein the teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism were blended with the Hindu way.



oThe intermingling of Hindu with Buddhist tantric cults created a mysterious atmosphere, andAssam came to be known as the land of magic and sorcery. The esoteric practices led to socialimbalances and moral decadence. It was during such religious decadence that the greatest eversaint of Assam, Sankaradeva, was born.

oIn the 13th century, Sandhya, the king of Kamarupa (ancient Assam) shifted his capital


oIn the 13th century, Sandhya, the king of Kamarupa (ancient Assam) shifted his capitalfrom Kamarupa-nagar to Kamatapur and, since then, the kingdom came to be known asKamrupa-Kamata. In about mid-14th century, as a result of a treaty between the king of Gauda(Bengal), Dharmanarayan, and the Kamrupa-Kamata king, Durla-bhanarayan, seven learnedKayastha families and seven Brahmin famiies were sent by the Gauda king tothe kingdom ofKamrupa-Kamata. Their original homeland was Kanauj and they migrated to Gauda when theirkingdom was attacked by Muslim invaders. Later, five other Kayastha families joined the firstgroup of seven Kayastha families. These12 Kayastha families constituted the original BaroBhuyans of Assam. They were the ancestors of Sankaradeva and were Saakta worshippers.However, the presence of indigenous Bhuyans and the tradition of Bhuyanship (landlordship) wasin vogue much before the arrival of the Baro-Bhuyans.

The immigrant Kayastha families were conferred with the title Bhuyan (landlord) by theking and were settled at Lengeramaguri. Chandivara was the leader of the group and wascalled the Siromani Bhuyan. Due to frequent attacks by Bhutiyas, Chandivara had tochange his residence-cum-headquarters from Lengeramaguri to Bhalukaguri andthen toRauta. Chandivara died at Rauta and his son Rajadhara shifted the headquarters toAlipukhuri-Bardowa, Nagaon. At Rajadhara’sdeath, his son Suryavara became the


Alipukhuri-Bardowa, Nagaon. At Rajadhara’sdeath, his son Suryavara became theSiromani Bhuyan. After the death of Suryavara, his son Kusumvara succeeded him. For along time, Kusumvara had no issues. He started offering prayers to Lord Siva. In 1449, ason was born and named as Sankara, because he was believed to be born as a result ofSiva’s blessings. Sankara lost his parents at the age of seven and was brought up by hisgrandmother, Khersuti. At the age of 12, she enrolled him to a tol under MahendraKandali, a Brahman scholar. One day, Kandali witnessed a miraculous incident where ahuge cobra extended its hood to protect a sleep-ing Sankara from the rays of the sun.He then bestowed the epithet deva (godly) and Sankara came to be known asSankaradeva.


He studied the Vedas, Upanisads, Puranas and other holy texts and became a learnedscholar. His extraordinary talents and poetic genius began manifesting since his earlydays at school. He composed an eight-line hymn glorifying God de-spite little learningsof the alphabet. Later, while at school he wrote his verse work Harichandra Upakhyana.He also experimented with yoga and became an expert of yoga postures, displayingenormous physical strength. He left yoga only after acquiring sufficient knowledge ofthe Bhagavata religion.


the Bhagavata religion.

In 1470, he married Suryavati and a daughter was born named Manu. But his wife diedwithin a year after childbirth. Sankaradeva lost interest in running his business andfamily life. Slowly, he leaned towards a more religious life. In1481, at the age of 32years, Sankaradeva, accompanied by 17 others, set out for his first pilgrimage aftermarrying off his only daughter to Hari Bhuyan. During his sojourn of12 years in holyplaces like Varanasi, Vrindavan, Mathura, Haridwar, Badarikashrama, Prayag,Kurukshetra and Puri, he discovered the mission of his life.


The pilgrimage widened his religious outlook. Influenced by the Neo-Vaishnavamovement of main-land India, Sankaradeva wanted to introduce his simplified version ofBhakti movement in Assam. After his arrival at Bardowa, he preferred to lead amissionary’s life and planned for the propagation of the Assamese Vaishnava movementfrom his village by organizing a drama called the Cihna-Yatra where he used his ownpaintings, music and fireworks. The show was a first of its kind in the religio-cultural historyof Assam. This became an instant hit and Sankaradeva became a preacher thereafter.


of Assam. This became an instant hit and Sankaradeva became a preacher thereafter.

At that time, all the religious texts were written in Sanskrit and were in the custody of theBrahminical priestly-class. The common people were deprived of its knowledge.Sankaradeva translated the first half portion of the Bhagabata Purana and a portion ofKirtana Ghosa into Assamese and started preaching in the language of the common peoplefrom a Namghar, which is a typical Assamese community prayer hall designed by him.Sankaradeva, the Kayastha preacher, thus dared to enter the domain of the Brahminicaloligarchy. His religion of Bhakti minimized the role of the priest-hood. In this way hebroke the Brahmanical monopoly over the holy scriptures and their religious rites andrituals. He discarded the caste system and tried to establish the equality of men.


Sankaradeva laid the foundation of the Assamese Vaishnavism from the beginning of the16th century through his literature, paintings, devotional songs (Borgeets), hyms(Bhatima), dramas (Ankiya Nats) and music which created a renaissance in the socio-cultural spheres of Assam. By rejecting the Vedic rites of yagna and homa, animal sacrificesand other esoteric and sexual rites that were associated with the Sakta cults and by cutting


and other esoteric and sexual rites that were associated with the Sakta cults and by cuttingdown the expenses of worshipping, Sankaradeva’s religious movement ushered in an era ofsocial transformation in the country.



Ravaging floods and people’s endless misery(General Studies on Assam: Disaster Management)

oOne of the most nagging problems of Assam is the chronic flood. With monsoon rainsetting in, psychological strain starts increasing in the poor people in the State in


setting in, psychological strain starts increasing in the poor people in the State inparticular, for they know it well by past experience that monsoon means the worst daysare round the corner when they have to spend sleepless nights in a row when theravaging floods of the Brahmaputra inundate their dwelling houses, cropland, etc., withbreaches in a good number of unscientific embankments on the riverbanks, bridges,culverts, etc. They also know that the flood would cause extensive damage to bothpublic and private properties worth crores of rupees and claim scores of lives, bothhuman and animals, besides causing huge dents to the State’s agrarian economy.

Why does the State come a crop-per in withstanding the fury of the floods? It is largelybecause of the absence of a well-considered, holistic, long-term flood-control mechanismin the form of the river Brahmaputra basin management. The insidious propertiestriggered by flood together with erosion is a periodic happening. Completing flood-related groundwork in the form of repairing and building basic infrastructure such asembankment, bridges, culverts, roads, etc. during every pre-monsoon period is a sine qua


embankment, bridges, culverts, roads, etc. during every pre-monsoon period is a sine quanon that it will go along way in lessening the severity of a likely disaster but mitigating thesufferings of the affected.

Presumably, given the recurring and devastating nature of floods, the State WaterResource Department was reportedly instructed by the State Government to complete therepairing and construction work of embankment by April 30 this year. Had it been done ontime, the situation would have been in control.


Arguably, around this time of the current year, Assam has experienced three waves offloods. The first wave hit the State in May-end, in the pre-monsoon period while thesecond one was caused by the incessant rainfall on June 23, 2020 onwards. Both of themwere equally deleterious in terms of loss of lives and livelihood as also damage tovaluable properties. No wonder, so was the third wave. Resultantly, till July 24 thesituation remained alarming. But then, it was far too worse till July 17, as close to


situation remained alarming. But then, it was far too worse till July 17, as close to40lakh people were affected in 27 out of 33 districts, while as many as 71 people losttheir lives, though on July 24 the death toll swelled to 96.

Around 39,79,563 people of3,218 villages/localities in 93 revenue circles were affectedwhile a total 131,368.27 hectares of crop-land were inundated. Surging flood-watershave submerged vast tracts of human settlement, forcing the affected people to takeshelter in makeshift relief camps, 711 in number, amid the coronavirus pandemic.


But these are reportedly inadequate to meet the needs of a huge number of flood-affected families. Of all the 33 districts in the State, as many as 27 districts are badly-affected by the floods. Reportedly, about 90% of Kaziranga’s total mass area was underfloodwater, as in the last year. That the floods this year is much too devastating isevidenced by the fact that a total of 13,30,965 big animals, 7,59,717 small animalsand 12,85,754 poultry are affected till recently.


However, if we study the behavioural pattern of the Brahmaputra during the rainy seasonsof 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, it is fathomable that the flood has turned far moredevastating with time and, amazingly, in these years all the waves were equallyinsidious and menacing. For instance, the July second wave of the deluge in 2019, oneof the worst in the State in re-cent times, claimed 69 lives while over 57 lakh people inas many 4,626 villages under 114 revenue circles of 29 districts were affected. Earlier, in2017, the three waves that had lashed the State over a period of five months alsoproved themselves to be equally ravaging as nearly 34 lakh people were adverselyaffected. The deluge had claimed as many as 134lives against 11 lives lost in 2011.


The all important question is, why is Assam plagued by ravaging floods annually? A closestudy of the recent history of floods in the State helps one to understand a few factors. Themain reason is the vast amount of sediment that is carried by the Brahmaputra. When theBrahmaputra enters Assam, it piles up enormous amounts of this silt which leads to floodsand erosion in the State. This apart, there are several other natural and man-madefactors involved – heavy rain-fall, ad hoc and interim nature of embankments in thecatchment areas, plus other contributing factors like deforestation, population growth in


catchment areas, plus other contributing factors like deforestation, population growth incatchment areas, etc.

Indeed, apart from the silt load, this time breaches in embankments can be attributed tothe large-scale damage by the deluge. There are reportedly a total of 423 embankmentsacross the State. With 70%of them being ad hoc, unscientific and having crossed theirlifespan, they as the existing flood-control mechanism are unable to with stand the growingfury of floods and erosion. Embankments are breached along with a number of roads,bridges, culverts, etc., at many places, causing panic among the people.


Establishing the vital structures is the immediate need, for there are still a month leftwhen there may be high floods again. But constructing and strengthening them entailhuge amounts of money which Assam as a fund-deficit State will be unable to afford.That is probably why the Chief Minis-ter Sarbananda Sonowal on July 22 appealed to theUnion Jal Shakti Minister GS Sekhawat to allocate funds for the purpose. The StateGovernment considers dredging up the riverbed to make the Brahmaputra deeper. But


Government considers dredging up the riverbed to make the Brahmaputra deeper. Butthe experts argue against this because if done, say this year, it leads to deposition of slitthe following year. It is very expensive too. Notably, since 1954around Rs 30,000 crorehave already been spent towards the endemic flood management in Assam. However,the crying need is finding out a holistic and sustainable solution to the State’s recurringflood problem through an integrated basin management system in consultation, mainlywith Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan to end the sufferings of the people.


THE ASSAM TRIBUNE ANALYSIS Date -20 August 2020

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