Why monsoons don't bring the same joy to Assam as the rest of India
Several deaths. Lakhs displaced. Over a thousand villages affected. Nearly 15,000 hectares of crops destroyed. This is the extent of the havoc being wreaked by floods in Assam right now. The impact has been this severe, and the monsoons are yet to reach their full might in the state. And this appears to be Assam's new normal.Nearly 900 people have directly lost their lives to floods in Assam since 2019. In 2022 alone, the death toll was 278, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Who is to blame — the floods that are almost a recurring feature now, thanks to climate change, or the infrastructure that has outlived its reliability, which is now obviously vulnerable to extreme weather? Perhaps both.advertisement
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 'Climate change, deforestation and erosion, and the lack of maintenance of dams and embankments were some of the main drivers of risk, a reminder of the need to continue strengthening disaster risk management to prevent future displacement.'Of more than 400 embankments built along the Brahmaputra and its tributaries since the 1950s, over half have outlived their intended lifespan, and a lack of resources to repair and maintain them means a growing number have been breached, a report by the international non-governmental organisation added.While the government has stepped up, its efforts haven't shown any substantial impact. In August 2022, the Indian government applied for a loan from the World Bank for the Assam Integrated River Basin Management Programme Project. The objective of the project was to reduce the vulnerability of people to climate-related disasters and improve integrated water resources management in Assam.advertisementIn a letter dated 22 July 2024, the World Bank apprised that the money had been provided for the same project. The project is a three-phase programme with an overall financing of USD 625 million.The Brahmaputra River and its tributaries are essential to the livelihoods of millions of people across Assam. But frequent floods cause lakhs of people to leave their homes for extended periods every year. Around 10 per cent of the state's population, or more than three million people, live on fertile islands known as chars, highly exposed to floods. About 40 per cent of the state's territory is susceptible to flooding, and its frequency and intensity have shifted in recent years, forcing an increasing number of people to move, sometimes repeatedly and for extended periods.Meanwhile, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority apprised that Brahmaputra (Neamatighat and Tezpur), Burhidihing (Chenimari), Kopili (Kampur and Dharamtul), Rukni (Dholai), Barak (Fulertal, AP Ghat, and BP Ghat), Dhaleswari (Gharmura), and Kushiyara (Sribhumi) rivers are flowing above danger levels, while Katakhal (Matizuri) is flowing above the highest flood level.Must Watch
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