{"id":1320,"date":"2015-08-18T09:21:53","date_gmt":"2015-08-18T09:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developmentdebate.in\/2015\/08\/19\/assam-flood-how-development-is-leading_18\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T08:26:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T08:26:23","slug":"assam-flood-how-development-is-leading_18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developmentdebate.in\/?p=1320","title":{"rendered":"Assam Flood: How \u2018Development\u2019 is leading the march towards catastrophe"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nAbdul Kalam Azad<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAssam is one of the most flood prone states in North-Eastern states of
\nIndia. Flood has almost become an annual event in Assam creating mayhem among
\nthe masses. Except two the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar
\nHills, all the plain districts of both Brahmaputra and Barak Valley of Assam
\nare vulnerable to floods in every monsoon starting from May\/June to
\nSeptember\/October. The flood water causes huge damage to crops, lives and
\nproperties (Mandal, 2010)<\/span>. As far as
\nscale is concerned, the annual flood water from river Brahmaputra and its 28
\nnorthern and 18 southern tributaries and river Barak affects three-fourth of
\nthe total number of districts in the state (Phukan,
\n2005)<\/span>.  <\/span>In 2012, Indian Space
\nResearch Organization carried out a study through satellite and remote sensing
\nfor extraction of flood disaster food print and assessing the disaster impact
\nin Assam. <\/span>The study shows that about
\n4.65 lakh ha area was submerged, 23 of the 27 districts in Assam had more than
\n5% of the total geographical area submerged, about 3829 villages marooned and
\n23.08 lakh people were affected<\/span> <\/span>(C. M.
\nBhatt, G. Srinivasa Rao, Asiya Begum, P. Manjusree, S. V. S. P. Sharma,L.
\nPrasanna and V. Bhanumurthy, 2013)<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nFlood: What History says?<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nHowever, history says that flood was not so
\ncruel in Assam just half a century ago. Prior to the great earthquake of Assam
\nin 1950, the magnitude of flood was much lesser and people used to welcome the
\nflood <\/span>(Phukan, 2005)<\/span>. Furthermore, t<\/span>ravellers and soldiers who visited Assam in the
\nmedieval period wrote about the amazing rivers and awe-inspiring seasonal
\nrains. Assam’s native people used these factors to their advantage in their
\nbattles against other armies\u201d <\/span>(Barbora, 2015)<\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nCauses behind the increasing number of flood<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
\nBut the things didn\u2019t go
\nwell as the time passed. Prof. Sanjay Barbora argues that the advent of British
\ncolonial role and tea plantation as well as other cash crops changed the landscape
\nof Assam in 19th<\/sup> century. The colonial government built railway
\ntrack and embankment to protect the tea gardens from water-logging. Independent
\ngovernment also followed much of the British path and built embankments and
\ndykes with very short-term economic logic in mind, which radically changed the
\nsocial structure of the place. Thus, construction of embankment for one village
\ncreates waterlogged condition in the fields of another (Barbora, 2015)<\/span>. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nProf. Phukan says flood
\noccurs in Assam as a result of multiple factors like a) natural, b) ecological,
\nand c) anthropomorphic. These factors combined with other climatic factors like
\ndepression of Bay of Bengal, high sediment transport, deforestation, shifting
\ncultivation, earthquake, landslide etc are influencing the flood situation in
\nAssam (Phukan, 2005)<\/span>.  <\/span>Apart from short-sighted flood control and
\ndevelopment policies, destruction of wetlands is another factor which worsening
\nthe flood situation in Assam; the \u2018Bils\u2019 in Brahmaputra Valley and \u2018Haors\u2019 in
\nBarak Valley, which work as natural reservoirs are shrinking drastically.  <\/span>In 1988, total wetland covered area was 49000
\nha which has shrunken to here 35630 ha in 2005 (ibid). Within a period of just
\n17 years, more than 27% of wetland has been destructed. There is no doubt that
\nthe rate of this destruction has been increasing. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n
\nThere were large number
\nof natural water reservoirs in and around Guwahati city; the human greed has
\ndestroyed almost all of them. At one hand wetlands and natural water reservoir
\nare being destroyed and high rise buildings are being constructed, including
\ninternational chain of hotels. One the other, the hills and forest are also not
\nspared. Experts say that one of the most important factors behind the flash
\nflood in Guwahati is the mindless human encroachment in the hills, wetlands and
\nwater canals (Deka, 2018)<\/span>. Off late
\nadministration is working on to evict the illegal encroachment in those natural
\nresources and so far the result is quite encouraging. <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
\nIs Development Responsible?<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nThe instances of flash
\nflood have been increasing in Assam. Last year\u2019s flash flood due to cloud burst
\nin Meghalaya\u2019s Garo Hills district caused devastation in Goalpara and Kamrup
\n(Rural) districts of Assam. The affected community thinks that the magnitude of
\ndevastation has increased manifolds due to the construction of railway track
\nwhich blocks the natural flow of rain water from uplands of Garo Hills. The newly
\nconstructed railway track to Mendipathar from Goalpara has added more hazard to
\nthe existing vulnerability[i]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.
\nDuring monsoon, NEEPCO releases excess water and that creates flood situation
\nin North Lakhimpur district of upper Assam almost every year. Local media
\nreported that, at least one person
\nlost his life while trying to rescue his two brothers in flood water caused by
\nthe NEEPCO\u2019s water during last June flood[ii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAnother significant
\nmatter is the growing number of flash flood due to excess water released by dams. There
\nare instances of flood in lower Assam caused by the excess water released by
\nKurichu dam of Bhutan[iii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.
\nIt is a matter of great grief our Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated
\nanother dam in Bhutan which has potentiality to cause devastating flood in
\nwestern Assam.  <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWhat next \u2013 Catastrophe? <\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nDespite all <\/b>these risks and vulnerabilities, our
\ngovernment is adamant to establish 167 dams including mega structures in upper
\nAssam and Arunachal Pradesh which may cause catastrophe to entire downstream
\ncivilization. There has been a strong movement in Assam against these dams. The protesters and the experts believe that these dams will
\naffect the flow of water of river Brahmaputra, which will impact irrigation
\ndownstream, and increase the danger of sudden floods in an area that is already
\nhighly flood-prone (Rehman, undated)<\/span>.<\/span>
\nIf these sorts of unabated and short-sighted development interventions are
\ncontinued, no doubt it will definitely lead us towards a deadly future. <\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n

[Abdul
\nKalam Azad is a grass-root community worker and runs a not for profit organization
\ncalled Jhai Foundation (jhaifoundation.org). He tweets @abdulkazad] <\/span><\/p>\n

Pictures from: http:\/\/thenortheasttoday.com\/2015-assam-floods-in-pictures\/
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n[i]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\nInterview with Biren Rabha, journalist and community worker based in Krishnai,
\nGoalapra<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n[ii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> NEEPCO dam water floods North Lakhimpur, Assam
\nTribune, 30th<\/sup> June, 2015 <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n[iii]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\nThe Case of Kurichu in the Indo-Bhutan Context Transboundary Hydropower
\nProjects and Downstream Flooding by Anjana Mahanta. Accessed from http:\/\/www.indiawaterportal.org\/sites\/indiawaterportal.org\/files\/kurichu.pdf<\/a>
\non 10th July, 2015<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nReferences:<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/div>\n
\nBarbora, S. (2015, June 22). Where a state drowns
\neach year: Assam floods and what needs to be done<\/i>. Retrieved July 10, 2015,
\nfrom Catch News: http:\/\/www.catchnews.com\/environment-news\/where-a-state-drowns-each-year-assam-floods-and-what-needs-to-be-done-1434943767.html<\/span><\/div>\n
\nC. M. Bhatt, G. Srinivasa Rao, Asiya Begum, P.
\nManjusree, S. V. S. P. Sharma,L. Prasanna and V. Bhanumurthy. (2013). Satellite
\nimages for extraction of flood disaster footprints and assessing the disaster
\nimpact: Brahmaputra floods of June<\/span>\u2013<\/span>July 2012, Assam,
\nIndia. Current Science<\/i> , 104<\/i> (12), 1692-1700.<\/span><\/div>\n
\nChakraborty, G. (2014). The Demographic Question in
\nthe Char Areas of Assam. Social Change and Development <\/i>, 113-117.<\/span><\/div>\n
\nDeka, D. P. (2018, 07 28). Geographical Perspective
\nof Artificial Flood in Guwahati.<\/i> Retrieved 07 10, 2015, from The Sentinel:
\nhttp:\/\/www.sentinelassam.com\/op_ed\/story.php?sec=33&subsec=0&id=199066&dtP=2014-07-28&ppr=1
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
\nMandal, R. (2010). Cropping Patterns and Risk
\nManagement in the Flood Plains of Assam. Economic and Political Weekly<\/i> ,
\nXLV<\/i> (33), 78-81.<\/span><\/div>\n
\nPhukan, S. D. (2005). Flood – The Annual Mayhem in
\nAssam A Technocrat’s Viewpoint. Ishani<\/i> , 1<\/i> (6).<\/span><\/div>\n
\nRehman, T. (undated). Dialogue of the deaf. In Brahmaputra:
\nTowards unity.<\/i> thethirdpole.net.<\/span><\/div>\n

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