Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced that Poba Reserve Forest, the vital biodiversity hotspot in Dhemaji would be upgraded to a wildlife sanctuary.
Poba Reserve Forest, declared in 1924 with an area of 10,522 hectares, is home to a large number of flora and fauna.
Poba forest is under serious threats from anthropogenic activities and natural calamities particularly erosion by the Siang river. If the present trend of deforestation and erosion continues, urgent and effective conservation measures need to be initiated to save this Rain forest.
Sonowal on Tuesday took stock of the devastation caused by flood, at outer Jonai and Bera Sapori areas in Jonai and met the inmates of a flood relief camp there.
Sonowal reviewed the flood situation of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Majuli apart from Jonai and took stock of the progress of various schemes implemented by the Water Resource Department.
He directed the department to expedite the embankment repairing works to provide protection to the people in those districts from floods.
The department was directed to prevent floods caused by Suwansiri, Dikrong Rivers at Jamuguri, stop the damage caused at Kenmili embankment in Majuli and floods caused by Siyang River at Jonai among others.
Over one lakh people of 358 villages in Dhemaji district have been affected by flood this year while 32, 977 hectares of croplands were also damaged. A total of 859 people have been provided shelter in the seven relief camps set up in the district.
