THE UNTOLD STORIES FROM THE BANKS OF JIADHAL RIVER. FREQUENT CHANNEL MIGRATION INTENSIFIES MISERIES OF FLOOD VICTIMS.

MONOJ GOGOI

HARISH PEGU

                                                            Part (I)

The Jiadhal river, flowing through the Dhemaji district of Assam, India, is one of the most treacherous north bank tributaries of the Brahmaputra. This river emerges from the hilly terrains of Arunachal Pradesh and entered the plains of Assam in Dhemaji district at Jiadhalmukh. The river comes out with a huge force meandering through the hills and carries immense debris and silts to the downstream. Up to 6-7km from Jiadhalmukh, the force of the river water itself digs its own course; therefore the gradients in both banks are higher. But in the downstream, the river deposits silts and debris in its own course, carried by the river itself which resulted in elevating the river bed. The riverbed becomes wider up to 2- 3km in some parts and then the river starts to flow in shallow braided channels. In the upstream, this river creates immense erosion and destroyed a khair (Senegalia Catechu) tree bagan planted by the Forests department of Assam.

Traversing after 8-9km, the river becomes more mysterious; it started to flow in multiple shallow braided channels although people recognize two main channels – Jiadhal and Kumatiya, which bifurcate after crossing the Barman Gaon area. The river is told treacherous as it often shifts its channels from one place to another place and the character of channel shifting is more unpredictable than the rest of the rivers in Dhemaji district. Channel migration or channel shifting brings untold miseries to the people living on the banks of the river. It creates catastrophic flood every monsoon which destroys crop areas, houses, livestock, road connectivity, standing crops etc. due to flood people loss valuable properties, lands, and houses and many families compelled to go high rise places for shelter under self made makeshifts or government provided shelter house. The floods created multiple times in a flood season by the river change the economy of riverine people. Due to the sand dunes or deposition of sands and debris the river becomes wider and enters many low-lying areas.

In the downstream at Pachchim Dhemaji, several villages including Kesukhana, Kesukhana Kachari etc remain inundated for at least 5 months of the year beginning from late April to October.

It might be mentioned that since 1968 the channel migration of the river created devastating flood havoc in North Dhemaji,  Moridhal, Lakhipathar, Eradhal, Bukabeel, Shantipur, Bishnupur etc areas. In recent years, since 2018, the river gradually migrated and created flood in the areas like Jiadhal, Chamarajan, Hatigarh, Batgharia, Ajuha and many villages in Naruathan panchayat by entering through the Kekuri Chapori village.

This year on Sept 19, the surging river water, due to heavy rains in the area and adjacent hilly terrains of Arunachal Pradesh, breached about 300 metre of embankment at Kekuri Maj Gaon and immediately washed away 6 families living across the embankment, 8 families in Ujani Dihiri. On the same day, at 6:00 pm in the evening a huge portion of embankment about 150 metre washed out by the river on the right bank between Jangle Block and Adarsha village which destroyed 15 families in Naruathan. At 6:10 about 300 metres of embankment collapsed at Sapekhati which affected 7 families of Sapekhati, Gurarthali and Bagalijan villages.

This year in the entire flood season the households immersed in to the river course is given below:

Name of villages                                                                     Number of affected families

Kekuri Maj Gaon                                                                 28

Ujani Dihiri                                                                          12

Tinigharia                                                                             1

Ajarbari                                                                                1

Kekuri Chapori                                                                    5

Bhajugaon                                                                            2

Hesuli                                                                                    4

Chechahur                                                                             4

Total nos                                                                              57

Till the end of the flood season of this year at least 57 families have lost their houses to the riverbed. This is not the first time, every year this treacherous river displaces many families, sometimes for multiple time. Agriculture is the primary and almost for many the only livelihood option for the people of the floodplains of Jiadhal river. But, unfortunately, thousands of bighas of cultivable lands become unproductive as the widespread sand casting of the river.

No conventional or existing flood and erosion protection measures, associated with corrupt practices, will help in taming the river. 

 (In the second part of this two-part article, it will be discussed on the approaches of flood and erosion measures taken up by government bodies)