By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Guwahati: Erosion has been the toughest hurdle in their lives so far. After losing to land and properties to river erosion, many have been left with nothing but to spend nights on the embankments in many districts of Assam.
People affected in flood and erosion from the districts of lower Assam staged protest at Dispur Last Gate against state government’s apathy towards their cause.
Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad members along with the erosion affected people take part in the protest in Guwahati.
They sought relief and protection from the government during the ongoing assembly session on Wednesday.
“The erosion will kill us one day. Many of us have already lost our lands and houses to erosion. Now we have been forced to live on the embankments. If the government does not take steps immediately, our future is gloomy,” said 40 year old Jalal Khan of Barpeta district’s remotest area called Gomfulbari.
Many like Jalal thronged at Dispur Last Gate on Wednesday seeking helping hand from the government which was initiated by Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad (CCSP), a literary body of the state.
“The people living on the riverine areas are facing huge problems. We demand immediate protection of the erosion prone areas in Barpeta, Dhubri and other districts. We also urge the state government to take steps to provide relief materials to the erosion affected people,” CCSP president Hafiz Ahmed said.
An erosion site in Barpeta.
They also demanded that the various schemes – ‘Anti-erosion to protect Berabhanga and its adjacent areas on L/B from river Brahmaputra amounting Rs 1491.91 lakh under South Salmara constituency’ and ‘Channelizing of river Brahmaputra and reclaiming of various channels of different location from Beldubi to Shisumara of Bangladesh border’– which were initiated to address the erosion problem to be completed at the earliest.
“Unfortunately, several schemes are yet to be completed. The mighty Brahmaputra has already eroded hundreds of villages. From 30 to 80 per cent of lands have been lost to erosion in several areas of South Salmara, Jania, Barkhetri and other places but the state government is silent,” Ahmed said.
MLAs of AIUDF also join the protest and demanded immediate action from the government.
“We appeal to the state government to take the erosion issue seriously and do the needful for the welfare of these people. We have already appealed the central government to declare flood and erosion in our state as national calamity so that the funds can be utilized to address the problem,” said AIUDF general secretary Aminul Islam.
A makeshift tent house on the embankment in Barpeta.
Though 40% of Assam’s land is flood-prone, experts said climate change has aggravated the problem. Experts warned that melting glaciers in Tibet, where the Brahmaputra originates, would worsen the scenario in the state.
An estimated 1.5 lakh people have been displaced in the last decade due to floods and erosions in Assam. About 8,000 hectare of land is lost annually. The state has lost an area of about 4.27 lakh hectares since 1950 to erosion, which amounts to 7.40% of the state’s land mass.
In 2013, Assam experienced the worst floods in two decades, which claimed 124 lives, damaged infrastructure, farm-lands and affected over 23 lakh people.