Majuli in troubled water, awaits PM visit for new lease of life

“We have recently seen newspaper reports that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said the PM would come to Majuli next month. With our past experience, all we can do at the moment is to pray to the Almighty that his proposed visit turns out to be a reality,” Pitambar Deva Goswami, an eminent Vaishnavite scholar of Majuli, said.

The PM had only last week reviewed various initiatives by different departments for preventing further erosion on the island by the Brahmaputra. He had asked various departments to tackle erosion on a war footing and suggested adoption of state-of-the-art technology instead of ad hoc measures to protect the island.

Majuli, the nerve-centre of Assamese Vaishnavite art, culture and music for over six centuries now, has been facing a devastating erosion caused by the Brahmaputra in whose heart the island is located as part of Jorhat district in Upper Assam. The island’s land mass has shrunk from about 1250 sq km in 1900 to about 700 sq km now, all due to erosion caused by the river.

“We have also heard that Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz and Culture Minister Ambika Soni are coming to Majuli in the next few days. This is good news because things will move in the right direction for protecting the island only when responsible people including Central ministers see for themselves what problems we have been facing,” Goswami added.