Assam Floods And What You Can Do About Them

Assam is face to face with a massive flood while dealing with a pandemic but is the mainland media talking enough about it? 

While we are focusing on the general news of other Indian states, at the same time, there has been little coverage in the national newspapers and news channels about yet another deadly bout of flooding in the north-eastern state of Assam. Assam barely receives attention both from the centre and mainland media when it comes to addressing their concerns. If a similar situation or disaster in this scale took place in any other state, the government and the media would have generally not wasted this much time to declare it as an emergency situation.

What is happening right now in Assam?

Assam floods, now more than ever, need our attention. Due to COVID-19, the burden on Assam is doubled. At present, 3,376 villages are underwater and 1,27,647.25 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, according to ASDMA. But why are we not talking about this on a national level? Why do the concerns of North-East not get the attention that they deserve? 

The rampant effect of floods is not only limited to the villages but has also impacted the lives of people living in the cities of Assam as well. While we stay at home during the pandemic, people in Assam are at war with a natural disaster, struggling to get by. The condition of Assam is only worsening day by day. The biggest state of North East India - Assam is drowning. 

The questions that we need to ask ourselves are- Why isn’t there enough coverage about the matter in the mainstream media? Why hasn't the media created pressure on the centre enough to take up the matter immediately on a serious note? Why has immediate emergency help/assistance/relief/special task force not been provided to the flood survivors struggling between life and death in Assam? 

North-East is often ignored both by the centre and the national media when it comes to addressing their concerns and shedding light on their issues. The North-East is very rich in valuable resources. If the region had got the right attention that it deserved then it would have been far more developed than it is now currently, there is humongous potential in the region. The North-East is admired by the entire country for its serene natural beauty, flora and fauna, rich diverse culture and is considered an ideal destination for a ‘trip’ but when it comes to actually understanding daily issues and news happening in Assam, or even in North East for that matter, people living in the mainland are hardly ever aware.

The current situation in Assam: 

As of now, authorities have set up 480 relief camps across 20 districts, providing temporary shelter for more than 60,000 people. Homes, roads and buildings have been inundated by floodwaters in parts of the state. A heavy monsoon is a yearly occurrence in Assam, resulting in flooding and landslides which force residents to flee their homes, often leaving behind their belongings. In fact, when a controversial citizenship act last year required residents to prove their Indian citizenship via documentation, many feared they wouldn't be able to do so due to the rains either destroying documents or families being displaced.

Why does Assam flood every year? Here’s what you should know:

Floods in Assam occur every year and are an annual natural phenomenon. Assam has always been prone to floods, but the 1950 Great Earthquake in the region led to massive changes in its topography and made things worse.

“Topography of Assam and meteorological factor (high rainfall) are the obvious reason behind Assam floods every year. Also, Brahmaputra is the largest water carrying river of India and the second-largest silt carrying river in the world. But the way we deal with rivers is further accentuating the disaster faced by the region," said Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP).

“Floods happen due to a breach of embankments. More than 80% of these embankments have not been reinforced in several decades because there is a huge contractor-administration nexus that benefits monetarily from a flood situation," said Kishalay Bhattacharjee, professor and commentator on the northeastern region. 

Townships have sprung up across Assam without proper flood-risk management. Rampant deforestation and cutting of hills have only worsened the situation.

● The state loses around 8,000 square km of land to erosion due to flooding every year. On average, the flood kills 50 people every year.

● And over the years, people have built their homes near the embankments. And when an embankment is breached, the resulting flood is both sudden and intense, leading to disaster. 

WHAT ABOUT THE ANIMALS AND LOSS OF LIVES?

Did you know Kaziranga is home to two-thirds of the world's population of the one-horned rhinoceros?

But as of now, on 14 July 2020, officials said that swathes of the world-famous Kaziranga National Park in the state, a Unesco World Heritage site, had been submerged and that at least 51 wild animals had died. Officials rescued 102 animals, they said, adding that some tigers and rhinos strayed into nearby villages to avoid flooding.

Earlier the animals could simply move to higher ground within the park. But it is reported that in 2019, as 90 per cent of Kaziranga got flooded, the water inundated every inch of the park including the higher ground. Suddenly, the animals had nowhere to go. And the number of animal deaths are alarming – 350 animals killed in 2016, 503 in 2017. 

Time to act instead of reacting:

What needs to be done to minimise destruction post-disaster and during a disaster is to shift from responsive/reactive types of policies to ‘early alert and prepared beforehand’ types of policies to improve the flood situation every year.

What can be done?

The Brahmaputra cannot be tamed. In fact, it is predicted that flooding will only become more intense in years to come. But how can we minimise the destruction?

Flood forecasting system and coordinate with local administrations need to be improved by authorities. 

Himanshu Thakker, Head, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, suggests:

●Better Flood forecasting. Information about floods forecasts must reach the affected villages in time. 

●Strengthen only those embankments that are really needed. And, do not build more embankments. Create more room for the river, not restrict it.

●Ban all construction on low-lying floodplains.

It's high time that we ‘act’ now and not wait to ‘react’.  We need to stop normalising the yearly destruction. 

Here’s what you can do to help:

Assam needs your help. Given below is the link of a document/list of some organisations and NGOs which are working on the ground to provide relief to the flood-affected people in Assam. Let us do our bit and donate to help out the people in their fight against the floods in the middle of a pandemic. You can donate on the details given in the document, the link to which is given below:

https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=AACD79CF1E2AA6EB%21661&ithint=file%2Cxlsx&authkey=%21ADhnpkDyPx3sBqU

Assam is a state famous for its tea production, silk, resources, rich diverse culture. We might be sipping in their famous ‘Assam tea’ safely in our homes, but meanwhile, when it comes to hearing their problems there is often sheer ignorance that is exhibited among the general public. Whether it includes racism against the people of North-East, suppression of their indigenous rights and identity, or ignorance of their concerns by mainstream media, there has been discrimination against the North-East with historical precedence. Assam deserves equal attention as any other Indian state and we cannot turn a blind eye at any cost to the people of our own land. 

Joi Aai Axom! 

- Pallabi Dutta (Content Creation Team)