Northeast146;s water world

Assam had hardly recovered from two successive waves of floods, with farmers trying to make up for their losses by planting a late variety of paddy...

Assam had hardly recovered from two successive waves of floods, with farmers trying to make up for their losses by planting a late variety of paddy, when a third and even more devastating wave of floods struck, wiping out almost every sapling. It has been an enormous loss, and this third wave will leave behind a trail of destruction that will have a deep and long-lasting impact on the state8217;s economy even as the Brahmaputra and its numerous tributaries continues to flow above the high-water mark.

Floods have remained a scourge in this region since 1950, when a devastating earthquake not only raised the bed of the Brahmaputra but also changed its course. As if the floods were not bad enough, last year the state had its first brush with drought. Consequently Assam, which had in 2001 recorded its maiden surplus output of rice, has since slipped again, with agriculture 8212; the mainstay of its rural economy 8212; being very badly hit.

Last year8217;s drought taught Assam a lesson: never to neglect irrigation imperatives. In fact the state has an installed capacity that could irrigate an estimated 25 per cent of its 24.90 lakh hectares of net cropped area. Yet, when the drought struck, it was found that hardly eight per cent of the area could be provided with the necessary irrigation, because most of the existing infrastructure had remained unmaintained for years.

With the recent floods, the state has made a new discovery: the entire flood control infrastructure 8212; embankments, bunds, spurs and drainage systems 8212; was faulty and outdated. The geo-dynamics of floods seems to have undergone drastic changes over the past few years. Large-scale deforestation, massive earthwork on a series of dam projects in Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan as well as encroachment on the Brahmaputra flood plains have together changed the very character of floods in the region.

This has forced the authorities to review their policies and approaches. A series of measures are now in the pipeline. For one, the Brahmaputra Board, the Rashtriya Barh Ayog and various other agencies are now researching for alternatives. The Assam government itself has embarked upon an ambitious mega-project called the North Eastern Integrated Flood and River Bank Erosion Management Project, and last week Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced the setting up of a Permanent Flood and Erosion Commission to study the flooding and bank erosion woes of the state.

Standing crops are only one aspect of the devastation caused by the floods although it alone accounts for a loss of about Rs 700 crore. The floods this year have also left their stamp on the entire road and railway infrastructure in the state. Although the floodwaters are yet to recede fully, according to a preliminary estimate prepared by the Assam government, at least Rs 500 crore would be required to repair all the affected roads and bridges. One can imagine the state of surface communication in Assam when as many as 1112 state PWD roads have been severely damaged, with about 600 timber bridges 8212; most of them in the interior 8212; being rendered unserviceable.

In fact the Northeast as a whole is experiencing the aftermath of nature8217;s fury. Almost every national highway in the Northeast 8212; five of which are in Assam 8212; has been affected, either from floods or because of erosion and landslides. Railway traffic to Murkonchelek, in eastern Arunachal Pradesh, and the Barak Valley in southern Assam, has been suspended for more than two months now. The Murkonchelek line is almost uprooted, thanks to floods in Dhemaji district, eastern Assam; while a vital bridge on the Lumding-Silchar section cut off rail links to the Barak Valley more than two months ago. The Dibang Valley district in eastern Arunachal Pradesh has remained cut off because of landslides for almost six weeks now, and only helicopter sorties link it with the rest of the country. Mizoram too has now decided to airlift food grain to its stranded citizens, as the lone national highway has been badly hit. All this has severely affected ordinary life. Prices have skyrocketed like never before, and as more and more areas have become inundated, thousands of families are without a roof over their heads.

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In the face of such widespread damage, even the state appears to be in retreat. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has now taken to asking people living in the more flood-prone areas to construct houses with raised platforms, just as the Mishings and other tribals do. His message to the people was clear: let us learn to live with the floods.