Assam’s recurrent problems of siltation, erosion and rapid channel aggradation in Upper and Central Assam manifolds the extent of flood damages up to a loss of Rs 1,880 crores on a yearly average (1953-2005) of damage to crops, houses, livestock and public utilities
Assam, situated at the foothills of eastern Himalayas is also known as the land of red water and blue hills. Bounded by avast network of major river systems like Brahmaputra (with a drainage area of 194,413 sq.km) and Barak (with a drainage area of 41,723 sq.km) originating from the hills/mountains surrounding the State frames Assam into a highly flood prone region. Its unique topography coupled with widespread anthropogenic factors (deforestation, construction in upstream-downstream areas of the surfaces of major rivers, intense land-use pressure, high population growth) creates colossal flood devastation. The region’s recurrent problems of siltation, erosion and rapid channel aggradation in Upper and Central Assam manifolds the extent of flood damages up to a loss of Rs. 1,880 crores on a yearly average (1953-2005) of damage to crops, houses, livestock and public utilities. (Flood Hazard At-las for Assam State (1998-2015)- A Geospatial Approach, 2016). The state’s location and geographical features is both a boon in terms of biodiversity richness, lushness (fertility) and natural resources, and a bane, as because of its landscape, Assam can never be completely flood-proofed.
Managing flood situation by the State Government of Assam sets in an elaborately planned range of mitigation and management measures implemented under two levels: structural and non-structural, by the Water Resources Department of Assam. Chief structural measures include construction of Embankments/Floodwalls/ Flood levees, Dams and Reservoirs, Natural Detention Basin, Channel Improvement, Drainage Improvement, Diversion of flood water, Treatment of catchment area/ Afforestation and other Anti-Erosion methods. The non-structural measures comprise of techniques to mitigate the extent of flood devastation by applying measures like Flood forecasting and warning, Flood Hazard Zoning, Regulation of reservoirs and Flood insurance. The Disaster Management Support Program in place provides digital database to facilitate hazard zonation, information for close contour information for priority areas, communication backbone for addressing real time flood information and facilitates network for exchange of
scientific data and knowledge among various bodies. (Handbook for Flood Protection, Anti Erosion and River Training Works, 2012). With the imagination to successfully implement flood protection frameworks and measures, in India, several government bodies and agencies like National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Department of Space,
Government of India, come together with the Assam State Disaster Manage-ment Authority to monitor, forecast and plan mitigation and manage disaster prone areas in Assam. Moreover, there are frameworks to facilitate real-time hydrological data among neighboring South-Asian countries.
Local communities in Assam are not unaccustomed to flood situations as floods wreak havoc in the region every year. As a result of which people have been able to cope and adapt themselves to living in a disaster-prone area by the use of local knowledge garnered over the years. The localized methods of adaptation can be detected in the type of houses built
like changghar(Stilt houses), residing on natural or built high raised platforms, agricultural cropping patterns and small-scale farming, investment in riverboats, construction of spurs using driftwood to prevent erosion and accommodating to a lifestyle of minimum non-permanent assets. Moreover, there are a large number of vulnerable communities residing in flood prone areas that have adapted migration as a coping strategy. (Katyaini et al., 2012). More often than not, communities rely on social networks and local knowledge to secure themselves at a disaster prone area.
Assam flood makes national news every year for coherent reasons of how it impairs daily life activities and how much damage it brings. Being a native of Assam and having firsthand experience of both urban and rural flood situations, observations of flood impacts have shown substantial vulnerability of local communities (esp.) in rural areas, in terms of loss/disruption of assets and livelihood. Instances of urban residents using inflated water boats in the middle of inundated city road, deaths due to accidental electrocution, loss of wildlife in national parks and wild-life sanctuaries are some of the regular news reports that surface during flood season. Unfortunately, these reports are consistent every year. While it is under-stood that the government seemingly has plans in place to tackle flood, it is however unacceptable beyond a point to lose life, property and livelihood to fault in precautionary measures. In As-sam, in addition to overflow of river causing flood, considerable lack in infrastructure of drainage system sus-tains standing flood in inundated areas. While in non-urban areas, failure in flood warning systems and of creation of adequate highland regions for both people and wildlife seem to be a recur-rent cause of devastation for many.
State flood mitigation strategies have not been able to secure Assam from its recent havoc raising flood just last year (2017). With over 15 lakh people affected and a death toll of over 100, flood affected both people as well as wildlife (count of loss of 389 animals and 228 poultry) equally, especially in biodiversity rich areas like Kaziranga National Park. Over 3,90,000 hectares of agricultural farms were inundated across Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Chirang, Morigaon, Nagaon, Jorhat, and Cachar districts. Damage to life and property has been accounted to be significantly enormous. Assam State Disaster Manage-ment Authority (ASDMA) provisioned 954 relief camps providing shelter to a total of 4,51,846 people. However, most people had to seek shelter on high grounds (setting camps on National Highways) by themselves.
Rainfall and flooding are transboundary national issues of every country. As rainfall in upstream may contribute to aggravated flooding in the down-stream with heightened increase in water flow. India’s flood forecasting and warning system appends frame-work of cooperation with neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan and China. Flood related information and hydro-meteorological data in respect to select sites are exchanged bilaterally under point-to-point communication throughout the year, particularly more frequently during flood season in real time. China shares water flow information of the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers with India during monsoon as a part of bilateral ties. The hydrological data helps understanding water level downstream. However, it is reported by Ministry of External Affairs that in 2017 India did not receive any information from China.
While it is true that the deluge situation in Assam cannot be absolutely ameliorated, experts believe there are a few measures that could help reduce destruction to considerable extent.
Himanshu Thakkar, water activist and coordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People proposes that admeasurements toward rejuvenation of wetlands, reconstruction of embankments and decentralised weather forecast could go a long way for Assam’s intrinsic flood problem.