What is the issue?
- The Prime Minister has recently announced he would appoint a high-powered committee to find “a permanent solution” for Assam’s recurring flood problem.
- Ecologists feel that a real understanding of the problem is essential before the committee is formed.
How was flood an opportunity for Assam?
- Floods have not been a “problem” as such for Assam a century back.
- For centuries, the region relied on the annual flooding and recession of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
- The productivity of its agriculture and other non-farm activities centred on the events of flood as it sustained the rural livelihoods.
- Floods naturally made the lands fertile and people could earn a livelihood with little labour.
- Even today, bamboo fishing nets and traps on water bodies and submerged agricultural lands during the monsoons emphasize the significant role of floods in Assam.
- Also, Kaziranga’s annual rejuvenation by floods is essential for the landscape and its unique wildlife to survive.
- The unique biodiversity of Kaziranga is rejuvenated by a dynamic system that connects the Brahmaputra with its alluvial floodplains.
How have floods become a problem now?
- The perception of floods as a “problem” in Assam is a 20th century phenomenon.
- Economy - British colonials viewed the low-lying areas of the floodplains of the Brahmaputra as a potential source of revenue.
- Also, the demand for new lands to meet the growing requirements of Bengal’s jute industry led to the migrated east Bengali peasants' settlement in lowlands of Assam.
- Floods began to cause damage to the thriving jute cultivation as a result of which flood control started appearing on the policy agenda.
- Embankments - The Assam earthquake of 1950 raised the bed of the Brahmaputra.
- Resultantly, floods began to threaten the built environment of commercially important cities.
- As a measure of flood control and protecting these urban settlements, embankments were built in huge numbers.
- Consequently, the confinement of the river flow led to higher water levels and increased hydraulic pressure during the monsoon.
- Bank erosion, embankment failures and breaches now have become major causes of flood devastation in Assam.
What are the impacts?
- Floods as against being an opportunity, now are adversely impacting the livelihoods of poorer communities.
- As a result, there is an increase in social inequalities.
- The diverse wildlife is being put to endangerment.
- The unique biodiversity of the region is also losing its sheen.
What lies ahead?
- Assam's case presents a picture of how a natural event turns into a disaster with human intervention.
- Thus defining the problem in relation to its past is essential to respond appropriately.
- Assam's rivers are an opportunity for its riverine ecosystem, its people and wildlife.
- Government's remedial measures and policy-making should consider not just deciding but also knowing the uniqueness of the region and problem of flooding.
Source: Indian Express
