By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net
Guwahati: The AIUDF chief and Dhubri MP Badruddin Ajmal raised the issue flood and erosion in Assam in the Parliament today and urged the House to finalise sort of permanent solution to this problem.
“We are with the flood-affected people of Chennai and Tamil Nadu. We want the government of India to provide all kind of necessary help. But here I would like to mention that as I am from Assam, even our union home minister for state affair Kiren Rijiju is also aware of the fact, this problem (flood and erosion) has become a part of our destiny,” Ajmal said.
Ajmal also appealed for a permanent solution to solve this problem.
“Here I would like to mention that from where Dhubri, along with other places-Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhemaji and Majuli-have been devastated by flood each year. Lakhs of people have been forced to the streets and lakhs of hectares of agriculture land has been lost,” Ajmal said.
He also appealed Rijiju to address of the problem of the border areas which is also affected by the flood and erosion.
The MLAs of AIUDF have also been protesting 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 the flood affected 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 utilised to address the problem,” said AIUDF general secretary Aminul Islam.
Though 40 percent 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.