Assam: Possibly India’s most flood-prone state, Brahmaputra: the river that can’t be tamed.
It was a dangerous story to begin with. Assam floods every year because the unstable Brahmaputra changes direction and floods.
So what’s gone wrong? Why do we know about the floods and still fail to stop the damage each year?
15 lakh people in 23 districts, 75 thousand hectares of land, 20 lakh domestic animals; have all suffered the wrath of this annual disaster.
parts of the Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary have submerged, and more rhinos have probably died due to the floods than by poachers.
Brahmaputra; a lifeline and threat to its people, will grow more intense each year.
The floods will not stop, so here’s what we can do.
To minimize the damage, stop encroachment on flood plains, repair the embankments, and don’t scatter new ones carelessly.
The embankment that protects Dibrugarh is also the reason fr the Patragao floods.
Heed the advice of experts, it’s time for scientific policies and not selfish politics.
The Brahmaputra basin is an ecosystem; too fragile to be interfered with.
Stop the deforestation, the hill cutting; the ecosystem can’t take it.
And climate change; it’s real.
Assam floods, Uttarakhand forest fires: maybe annual phenomenons, fueled by global warming and climate change, will become more intense and destructive.
We’re moving closer towards the breaking point of nature.
The time to take action is now.