Extinction stares at world's largest river island

Majuli (Assam), Sep 2: India's nominee for UNESCO's World Heritage Site Majuli could fade into the waters of the mighty Brahmaputra even before the long-deserved recognition finally arrives.

The world's largest river island Majuli has been nominated for a berth in the world heritage list site for the second consecutive time this year, after its unsuccessful bid in the previous year.

However, official sources say the river island may lose the tag of being the largest of its kind in the world with the Brahmaputra waters threatening to cut it in to two.

The waters of the river are forcing into the island at Somobari.

Once it washes off the Kamalabari-Bongaon PWD road, the waters may wipe the main township of the island - Kamalabari - which also houses three important religious sites (satras) besides a college and over twenty villages. Currently the river is just 100 mt from the PWD road.

Experts say within a few years time the river might elbow its way through the island, cutting it into two separate entities.

Worse still, massive erosion by the red river Brahmaputra has seen the hallowed possessions of the islanders shrink by the day. So much so, that according to reports the mighty river is swallowing about 75 sq metres of land every passing hour.

Statistics available with the department of Applied Geology of the Dibrugarh University says the island had an area of about 1,255 sq km in 1901. The area was reduced to 377 sq km as per a survey done in 2001.

While the average annual rate of erosion was between 1.77 to 1.84 sq km from 1917 to 1996, it jumped up to 6.42 sq km since 1997, with the Subansiri river compounding the threat by squeezing it from the northern side.

A part of Upper Assam's Jorhat district, the island is a multifaceted hotbed that has nourished a civilization of the Vaisnavite culture for over five centuries and also has been refereed to as the cultural capital of Assam.

The island holds more significance from the fact that it houses 22 seats of Vaishnavite learning - Satras (monastries) - preached by Assamese scholar Srimanta Shankardev.

"We have approached the government and are also mobilizing support and awareness for saving the island," said Satradhikar (chief of the main viashnavite monastry Auniati) Pitambar Dev Goswami. A delegation of the Satra chiefs is likely to meet the prime minister for the second time in two years to press for adequate damage-control measures, even as New Delhi had released Rs 3.83 crore last month for the development of Majuli as Heritage and Eco-Tourism destination.

Two days back, elephants were pressed into service to lug branches of trees and logs to that they could check the erosion on a temporary basis.

On both sides of the elevated Kamalabri-Salmora road - one of the main communication link in the island - one can see long stretches of settlements of people whose property and homes have been gobbled up by the marauding river.

Between 1951 to 1989, 78 revenue villages were swallowed by the Brahmaputra. This accounted for the marooning of 9253 families.

According to locals, the entire Ahotguri 'mouza', which comprise over 200 villages, has been gobbled up by the river. In the last week alone, 280 families have been rendered homeless, taking the total number of displaced families this year to nearly 1000.

The measures taken up by the Brahmaputra Board has come under public scanner. ''Constitutional protection and economic development of the island was an integral part of the historic Assam Accord.

But even after 22 years of the signing of the accord, there is little worth the name,'' said All Assam Students' Union president Shankar Prasad Rai.

Mr Rai blamed the Brahmaputra Board for lack of a comprehensive plan to cope with the ensuing 'disaster'.

Meanwhile, chief minister Tarun Gogoi is likely to visit the island in a day or two to take stock of the situation. UNI