The ambitious Rs 5.6 trillion river inter-linking project announced by the Vajpayee government has generated a lot of heat in Assam with politicians and NGOs saying that it would do more harm than bring respite from recurrent floods. Leading the campaign is the Opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which has already announced its decision to constitute an expert committee to study the possible impact of the project in the state. AGP president Brindaban Goswami said though it was good that the Centre was focusing on mitigating the drought problem in several states of mainland India, it was necessary to find out what impact it would have on Assam. ‘‘New Delhi has given an impression that if the Brahmaputra was interlinked with other major rivers of the country, the perennial flood problem of the state would be solved. But when the Centre constituted a task force to interlink the rivers, the drought in some states was given priority over Assam’s annual scourge,’’ Goswami said. He said the AGP would accept the proposal only when it was convinced that it the project will help in reducing the impact of floods in Assam. The All Assam Students’ Union and Asom Jatiyabadi Yuva-Chatra Parishad too have expressed opposition to the proposal. Both organizations have threatened to launch agitations against the project. ‘‘While Assam has been demanding a permanent solution to flood problem, the Centre woke up only when some states in Northern India are facing severe drought,’’ said AJYCP leader Apurba Bhattacharyya.
