Opinion A River Runs Through It

Poor management of floods afflicts the Assam economy.

assam, assam flood, guwahati, assam floods, assam weather today, assam flood death toll, assam news

H S Brahma

August 11, 2016 12:05 AM IST First published on: Aug 11, 2016 at 12:02 AM IST

The control of flood waters and erosion is crucial to the socio-economic development of Assam. (Source: PTI)

The July flood in Assam is being viewed as the severest in the past two decades. It has wrought havoc in almost all districts that fall along the course of the mighty Brahmaputra. Farmers and livestock breeders have incurred huge losses and there has been major devastation in the Kaziranga National Park. The waters have since started receding. There is now an urgent need to mount relief and rehabilitation on a war-footing. There are clear guidelines and flood manuals that describe the measures that need to be extended to farmers. District commissioners would only be too familiar with all the relief measures that needs to be undertaken.

While I was studying in Don Bosco School, Guwahati, in late 1960s, one of the European teachers used to tell us that the history of Assam is synonymous with floods. The severity of floods are only likely to increase in the future in the wake of massive growth in the population and the unlimited hunger for agricultural land. More poor people will move to vulnerable areas to eke out a livelihood, which will in turn result in loss of crop and livestock due to inundation of land during the floods. Already, a large number of families affected by past floods are residing in flood-prone and vulnerable areas. Hence, there is an urgent need to implement a comprehensive flood mitigation plan in Assam.

Simultaneously, the situation in Kaziranga National Park, which is the habitat for the one-horned Indian rhino, also needs to be attended to. This is a globally known wildlife site and visited by a large number of foreign tourists. Unfortunately, this national park is poorly managed. Poaching of the endangered rhino is more common instead of being the exception. The park is also shrinking with the Brahmaputra eroding its northern boundary while in the south it is hemmed by illegal encroachment. This encroachment is despite various court orders, including by the National Green Tribunal. The common refrain of tourists who visit this prestigious site is that a world-class national park needs to follow world-class management practices. That, unfortunately, is missing in Kaziranga. One is tempted to suggest that local citizenry be involved in the movement to conserve Assam’s forests and sanctuaries.

The tripartite Assam Accord, which was signed in 1985, talks about the socio-economic development of Assam. The control of flood waters and erosion is crucial to the socio-economic development of Assam since roads, culverts and bridges are regularly swept away in the recurring floods. Unless this issue is addressed, the well-being of the large number of poor families can not be ensured. Superior standards of construction will have to be followed if public works are to withstand nature’s fury.

Most of the then student leaders as well as the signatories of this historic accord are now members of the Assam legislative assembly and some are in the government. They must now take steps to limit the impact of the recurrent floods and mitigate its fallout on people living in the river basin. Natural disasters can have a severe impact on people and when they keep recurring the impact becomes permanent. The Brahmaputra is the lifeline of Assam and life has to be planned around it. The state government has to take the necessary steps to ensure that people do not have to suffer the trauma of losing life, livestock and livelihood every year when the river floods. If this is not done, citizens will loose faith in the elected government.