International Day of Action for Rivers, 2020.

The People's Movement for Subansiri Brahmaputra Valley (PMSBV) today (14th March, 2020) celebrated the International Day of Action for Rivers on the bank of a wetland called Merbeel near Subansiri river. Merbeel is an important source of water and livelihoods for the people living in the adjacent villages but this wetland turns into a branch of the Subansiri river during monsoon. Dirghuram Doley, an elderly of Pirika village, prayed the river and asked kindness to the people. He prayed coolness of everybody's mind as the mother Subansiri's water is cool. He asked the holy river to cure all the diseases suffering by the people who live on the Subansiri river basin.

More than a hundred participants, mostly women and youths took part on the occasion and discussed about the future of water bodies and climate change.

Earthen lamps were lit and leave them on a banana raft to float on the water of the wetland.

Comments

LOW YIELD OF BETEL NUTS HITS RURAL ECONOMY IN ASSAM THIS YEAR

MONOJ GOGOI It's the harvesting period of betel nut or supari (areca nut) in Assam. But the yield of betel nuts is discernibly low this year in all the districts of Assam compared to previous years. Chandan Boro, who plucks betel nuts, with Ranjit Basumatary and Raju Basumatary in this season in various villages under Gogamukh revenue circle of Dhemaji district in Assam says that in this harvesting season of betel nuts they are not getting as much works as they did in previous years. He says in the orchards where we plucked 20 quintals last year, this year's yield in the same orchard is less than 5 quintals. In many trees not even a single nut is found and in which trees nuts are there, it's comparatively very few. Ranjit Basumatary says we are roaming from village to village but the situation is the same. "We are shocked to see the drastic change in the crop yields", he adds. Biren Pegu, a betel nut grower from Goroimari are...

Saving Assam's Communities: A Scientific Approach to Riverbank Erosion

MONOJ GOGOI The riverbank erosion is one of the major problems in Assam. The riparian community in the Brahmaputra basin in Assam has been bearing the brunt of erosion for decades. They lose properties, houses, homestead land and agricultural lands to erosion. The riverbank erosion, sometimes, engulfs even an entire settlement or village and thus displaces thousands of people annually in the state. According to a report, the state has already lost more than 4.27 ha of land to the erosion caused by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries. There is no any mantra or strategy to stop suddenly the increasing trend of the erosion but scientific studies like “Mapping riverbank erosion and assessing it's impact on socio-economy and livelihood of people in selected villages in Lakhimpur and Majuli district: A case study for sustainable policy intervention to improve disaster and climate resilience of vulnerable communities”, prepared by Partha J Das (lead author) and Arup Kr. Das (remot...

RIVER BANK EROSION DISPLACES MILLIONS IN ASSAM

MONOJ GOGOI Massive river bank erosion in Assam has been displacing hundreds of thousands families across the state over decades since India's Independence in 1947. In recent years, the intensity and frequency of floods and erosion have also been increasing in the state. A photo of the IAG meeting in Lakhimpur. According to experts the behavior of rivers in Assam changed just after the Assam Earthquake of 1950 which was measured 8.7 in the Richter scale. The earthquake and the aftershock elevated the river beds of all rivers in Assam. Some rivers including Subansiri changed channels during the earthquake. It is estimated that since 1950 about 4.27 Sq km of land has been eroded by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries in Assam. In a recent statement CK Das, former Additional Chief Secretary of the state said that the size of the land that fell in river bank erosion would be about 5000 Sq km. But it is believed that the furious fast flowing rivers eroded mass more l...

CLIMATE CARE - NORTHEAST INDIA

Search This Blog