World Bank to fund Assam govt's China visit

Guwahati, July 23: The World Bank will fund the China visit of an Assam government's team of experts for studying flood control measures. "World Bank will bear the entire expenses for the visit of expert committee to China to study the management of (the) Hwang Ho river," an official release said on Friday.

This was decided at a meeting between a World Bank delegation and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

The World Bank will extend technical expertise, know-how and funding to the Assam government to control flood and erosion of the Brahmaputra river and turn it into one of immense resources, it said.

The delegation told Sonowal that taming rivers like the Mekong, the Mississippi and the Brahmaputra pose a great challenge, the statement said. Sonowal said the state government has accorded priority to solving the problems of flood and erosion.

"The state government wants to make the economic edifice strong, vibrant and resilient by controlling the Brahmaputra". He also told the delegation that many affected people, whose land was gobbled up by the Brahmaputra, see it as a river of sorrow.

"The state government wants to change the negative perception of scores of affected people towards the Brahmaputra, which constitutes the lifeline of the state and turn it into that of happiness and prosperity by according top priority to the problems of flood and erosion," he added.

The state has submitted a comprehensive Assam Flood Erosion and River Management Modernisation Project of Rs 1,500 crore to the Centre, which in turn has made an in-depth evaluation and handed it over to the World Bank for necessary sanction.

PTI