Study of bank erosion and protection measures on Subansiri River, Assam, India

India is one of the most flood-affected countries in the world. Almost every year floods of varying magnitude affect some parts of the country or the other. The Northeastern part of India receive very heavy rainfall ranging from 1100 mm to 6350 mm which occurs mostly during the months of May to September. As a result, floods in this region are severe and quite frequent. Subansiri River, a tributary of Brahmaputra River, in the state of Assam & Arunachal Pradesh, causes severe floods and erosion along the banks leading to a considerable loss of fertile land each year. The present paper briefly describes the study of the Subansiri River from Dam Site of Subansiri Lower Project to about 70 km downstream to ascertain changes in river morphology and pattern of river erosion using an integrated approach of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS). Based on analysis of satellite data, the vulnerable points along the banks have been identified for remedial measures and design of river bank protection structures against erosion has also been evolved for implementation.