Women from 18 Dibrugarh villages offer prayers seeking protection from Brahmaputra erosion

Dibrugarh: In a display of desperation and faith, women from 18 riverside villages gathered along the Brahmaputra in Dibrugarh on Saturday to perform traditional prayers, seeking divine protection from the annual ravages of flooding and erosion that have plagued their communities for over a decade.
Hundreds of acres of agricultural land have been swallowed by the river in recent years, displacing numerous families. With the monsoon season not very far away, the residents fear another cycle of destruction.
"Praying to God is our last resort. The severe erosion along the Brahmaputra bank from Mohanaghat to Aaithan over the past few days has instilled fear in our hearts. We have lost faith in man-made solutions," said Rupali Chetia, a resident of Aaithan village.
The villagers' frustration stems from repeated failures of govt-initiated flood control projects. Despite a recent announcement by water resources minister Pijush Hazarika, promising Rs 329 crore for flood and erosion control in the Bindhakota-Bogibeel area, the situation has only worsened. The Brahmaputra now flows merely 15 feet away from several village banks, while implementation of anti-erosion measures has been stalled, reportedly due to material shortage.
"Since the minister's visit on June 13, we have lost another 3 km of riverbank to erosion. The contractors are citing shortages of geo-bags and mega bags as the reason for the delay. No work has been done in the past one month. If they don't complete the protection work before the coming monsoon, we will again face devastating floods and erosion," Basanta Saikia, a resident of Bindhakota village said.