Context: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has recently developed a new mathematical model, BRAHMA-2D (Braided River Aid: Hydro-Morphological Analyzer).

About the BRAHMA-2D model (Braided River Aid: Hydro-Morphological Analyzer)

• The BRAHMA-2D model is an indigenous model to help gauge the flow of large braided rivers like the Brahmaputra and help engineers while taking river bank protection measures.

• It integrates a 2-dimensional water movement model with entropy theory, providing insights into disorder and randomness in river flow.

• It addresses challenges in predicting river flow variations across depth, essential for flood and erosion control, agriculture, water supply design, and energy production.

• It was developed in collaboration with the Brahmaputra Board.

Significance

• Traditional measurement methods during high monsoons are risky and difficult, leading to the adoption of mathematical models.

• Existing models provide only average velocity, while BRAHMA-2D accounts for undercurrents at different depths, crucial for accurate predictions.

• Braided rivers, characterized by sandbars, pose additional challenges, and this model is designed to address these complexities.

• River bank erosion is a severe issue in Assam, particularly along the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.

Application

• BRAHMA-2D aids in designing sustainable hydraulic structures like spurs and river bank protection measures to mitigate erosion.

• Its quasi-3D representation enables understanding of water movement at various depths and its circulation around structures like spurs.

About Brahmaputra River

• Origin: In  the Mansarovar Lake region, near Mount Kailash, Tibet and is known as  Yarlung Tsangpo here.

• It  is a trans-boundary river which flows through 3 countries ie. Tibet (China), India, and Bangladesh.

Major Tributaries

• North bank:  Subansiri, Ronganadi, Dikrong, Buroi, Borgong, Jia Bharali, Dhansiri (North) Puthimari, Manas, Beki, Aie, Sonkosh.

• South bank: Noadehing, Buridehing, Desang, Dikhow, Bhogdoi, Dhansiri (South), Kopilli, Kulsi, Krishnai, Dhdhnoi, Jinjiran.

Majuli Island

• Majuli means ‘land in the middle of two parallel rivers’.

• It  is located in the Brahmaputra River, in Assam

• It is  the second largest freshwater river Island in the world which is prone to extensive  river bank erosion.

• It is formed by the convergence of the Kherkutia Xuti, a branch of the Brahmaputra and Subansiri River in the north.

• It is the abode of the Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture. 

• In 2016 it became the first island to be made a district in India.