Assam to send expert team to China to study taming of Huang-He

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today said his government will send an expert committee to China for an in-depth study on taming of Huang-He river, once termed as the 'sorrow of China', to replicate it to tame Brahmaputra.
The expert committee will undertake a study on technical know-hows of taming the Huang-He so that the Brahmaputra could also be controlled in line with it, he said, launching a survey for the Brahmaputra Express Highway from Sadiya to Dhubri at Dibrugarh.
Sonowal said the Assam government has taken several steps to develop both banks of the river and Brahmaputra Express Highway is a step forward in this regard.

Already three rounds of discussions have been held with World Bank, Asian Development Bank and ambassadors visiting from different countries to use modern technology for taming Brahmaputra and to tap its resources to help hydro and agri growth in Assam, Sonowal said.
The World Bank has given its positive nod for the project, he said, adding Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari for the first time in a meeting in New Delhi in October last year had floated the idea of an express highway on both banks of the river constructed by utilising the silt to be dredged from the river bed.

Sonowal also advocated long term planning for utilising Brahmaputra's hydrology and other related resources so that an important tourist destination is developed surrounding Brahmaputra with the use of modern technology.
Chief Minister Sonowal said, "Many call the Brahmaputra as the sorrow of Assam. However, the judicious use will change the perception and use the river to catapult growth of the state."
He also inaugurated a Rs 29.79 crore Dibrugarh Town Protection Dyke, a scheme funded by Asian Development Bank. The town, he said, has been suffering from perennial flood and erosion for the last 180 years.