Sufia Ahmed and her family have now been forced to live on the bank of the Brahmaputra River in a hut after the Brahmaputra River swallowed their houses and land at Pachim Moinbari village near Jania-Kalgachia in Assam’s Barpeta district.
“I have lost everything. The Brahmaputra river swallowed our house, crops, land, everything. We are now living here. We are still worried about the erosion. If it continues then we will have to move to another place. Now only Allah knows what will happen next,” Sufia Ahmed said.
She further said that many families in her locality are facing similar problems.
According to the locals, more than 3,000 families in the Moinbari area have been affected due to the Brahmaputra River’s bank erosion.
Soil erosion of the Brahmaputra River is continuing to wreak havoc in the Barpeta district and displaced hundreds of families.
Char Ali, a resident of the Paschim Moinbari area said that people are facing massive problems due to river erosion and nearly 3,000 families in the area have been affected.
“If the government will properly implement the schemes then the erosion problem will be resolved. The mighty Brahmaputra River has swallowed hundreds of bighas of land, several houses, school buildings, and religious institutions. The Pachim Moinbari Higher Secondary School is also under threat. Nearly 3,000 families in this area have been affected due to river erosion. Many people have been displaced due to river erosion. People are now facing a lot of problems,” Char Ali said.
Ramzan, a resident of the Moinbari area said that his family has also lost everything due to river erosion.
“During the election period, the political leaders have come here and promised to resolve the problem, but after the election, they forgot all. We are facing similar problems every year. The poor people are facing many problems. Many people who lost their everything are now living on roads. Earlier, my house was in mid of the river and now we are living on the road,” Ramzan said.
On the other hand, AIUDF MLA Rafiqul Islam who is representing the Jania Assembly constituency told ANI that, flood and erosion are bigger problems of Assam and that the centre should declare it a National Calamity.
“We are continuously demanding that the flood and erosion problem of Assam should be declared a National Calamity. Our party president Badruddin Ajmal also raised this issue in the parliament on several occasions. Earlier, the Congress government didn’t announce it as a National Calamity and now the current BJP government has also not given it importance. Apart from the Brahmaputra river, people have also been affected by tributaries Beki, Manas, and Palla rivers and lakhs of people have become homeless. Around 35 lakh people are living in Char areas (riverine areas) and they have been forced to live underwater for six months every year,” Rafiqul Islam said.
Talking about the Moinbari area, the AIUDF MLA said that thousands of people in the Moinbari area have become homeless due to erosion and the Brahmaputra river swallowed the historic Moinbari Satra.
“A World Bank-funded project worth Rs 400 crore has been sanctioned to stop the erosion, but the works are going slowly. The river has changed its course and affected new areas,” Rafiqul Islam said.
According to the Assam government data, the state has so far lost about 4.27 lakh hectares of land due to the soil erosion of the Brahmaputra river and its tributaries. (ANI)
