Brahmaputra River Basin: A Geo – Social perspective

Abstract: One of the important river basin with worlds with fourth largest average annual discharge The Brahmputra River and its basin of tributaries plays very important role in its ecology, wildlife, economy and livelihood of people. Natural causes like erosion, floods as well as acid mine drainage and pollution have left the the river basin and its tributaries in peril. This paper tries to see the river basin from the perspective of water, livelihood and environment.

******The uniqueness of North East India is its rich biotic heritage which offcourse is the gift given by nature in the form of high rainfall as well as for the river which runs as the backbone and tributaries as its ribs is the, basin. With a geographical coverage of 1,94,413 sq kms it covers 5.9 % of the total geographical area of the country and spreads over states of , Arunachal Pradesh, west Bengal, , Nagaland, and whole of Sikkim. (source : WRIS)

Rivers as backbone of civillisation is well established from the time of Mesopotamia and Nile, the brahmaputra (popularly in assamese known as Lohit, Luit, or Bor Luit) also contributed to the Brahmaputra valley civillisation. And in due course of human history the river played roles for irrigation, communication and even in warfare. The river shaped histories for the people of brahmaputra valley in many ways through erosion, change of course, flood and not to forget the devastating earthquakes of 1897 and in 1950 which the young mountain range like the Himalaya is prone to.

It contains largest river island that is habituated in the world, , which is once and still the most revered area among Assamese people and is called the backbone of Assamese culture. Majuli as a river island and its habitants every year face flooding on the onslaught of rains. Erosion as a most prominent force is cutting new areas in majuli every year and the river takes the place once there was a village, school or someones paddy field.

A healthy practice in the bhoyams (plains) is having a pond near their house as Assamese people are borne lovers of fish and uses fish in cuisines, as well used to have community ponds, which not only promoted harmony and cooperation in community as well as in broader terms serving as a refuge for biota as well in geological terms contributing positively to the ecosystem and recharging ground water table. In modern times, there is a tendency growing and they becomes a rare sight especially in areas where recent urbanization boom have started and road construction , house constructions taking place. We knowingly or unknowingly welcoming but in distant future people will face the consequences.

There was once a time when ahom kings promoted construction of huge ponds and tanks to commemorate their loved ones as well as on religious purposes. Many are in dilapidate condition. The ones which are in good condition are joy sagar, siv sagar etc in upper Assam. Some of these ponds harbour last known species of turtle endemic as well as extinct in the wild.

In recent years the towns in Assam are seeing a boom of economic and construction activities which are effecting the tributaries and wetlands in the nearby areas. Bharalu a river have taken a toll on account of growth of Guwahati so also the Deepor Beel, the ramsar site nearby. Paper Mill effluent from jagirod paper mill is making its way in endangering the nearby Elenga Beel, so also the petroleum and mining in Upper Assam districts.

Kopili, a tributary of Brahmaputra is facing another danger from acid mine drainage. The unorganized rat hole mining in action have contributed the rise of pH in the river. It not only threatening the aquatic environment in the river but also endangering the Kopili hydroelectric project by corroding the machineries. Rat Hole mining was banned by NGT two years ago, but apart from affecting the local politics and livelihood, is still threatening as any scientific method was not followed.

Every river have nourished its environment to grow, whether it is for the humans or not, every civillisation owes it to the river that flows. A balance or an equilibrium is a dynamic process rather than a stagnant one where succession plays its role. This paper is trying to catch them as they have been taking place and a way to look forward. ****

1.0 Introduction:

The Brahmaputra is an international river system which flows through three countries viz. China, India and Bangladesh. Total extent of the Brahmaputra river basin is 580000 sq km of which 194413 sq km is based in India and which is 33.6 % of the total basin area. The Brahmaputra as a river in India flows through NorthEastern part of the country for 916 kms. The major cities based on the basin are Guwahati, Shillong, Silchar, Dibrugarh, , Jorhat, Dimapur, Darjeeling, Gangtok and Kohima. A population of 1,77,18,190 (Census,2001) is living on the basin . Majority of population is dependent on agriculture and allied land based activities. Shifting cultivation (slashe and burn agriculture) is still the chief means of livelihood of tribal people. Assam is famous for the production of tea covering a huge part of the international market. Jute, petroleum products, paper, fertilizers, drugs and pharmaceuticals are other important industries in the Basin.

Brahmaputra basin is also rich in mineral resource especially the Brahmaputra valley. Petroleum is found in Digboi, Naharkotiya, Hugrijan, Moran, Lakwa, Rudrasagar and Galiki. The main coal fields are found in the Garo, Jaintia and Khasi Hills in Meghalay, Nazira-Borjan, Namchik, Longloi area of Mikir Hills and Makum in Assam. Lime stone is found in the Garo, Khasi, Jaintia and Mikir Hills.

As per the latest assessment the hydropower potential of the sub-basin is 31,012 MW at 60% load factor. It is also assessed that Arunachal Pradesh alone has a hydropower potential of 26,756 MW at 60% load factor. (WRIS data).

With such a huge river basin and with so many lives depending upon it the recent trends though not drastic ,of climate change in the area could alarm many.

The general rainfall trend in the basin shows that rainfall pattern in the basin decreasing. But the changing trend is not drastic. In 1974, the Brahmaputra upper sub basin experiences maximum 4947.54 mm rainfall which is followed by 4051.94 mm rainfall in 1985. The Brahmaputra upper sub basin accounts least rainfall of 1776.57 mm in the year 1989. The maximum fall in the temperature observed in the Brahmaputra lower sub basin with 1720.65 mm in the year 1992.

The major ion chemistry of the Brahmaputra is characterized by high bi-carbonate content and source rock influence. While higher values of TSM than TDS during monsoon indicate predominance of physical weathering over chemical weathering, chemical weathering is relatively more pronounced during the dry season. On average, 60 % of the bi-carbonates in the Brahmaputra water come from silicate weathering and the rest from the carbonates.

Surface suspended sediments range from fine sand to clay,the size fraction greater than 12μm constitute a large number. Surface suspended sediments are moderately to poorly sorted with greater amounts of finer material in the distribution, particulalryduring the rainy season. The detrital contribution in the from of Quartz, Feldspar and Mica make up more than 80% of the mineralogy. Chlorite, Illite, and Kaolinite constitue about 95 % of the clay minerals. Suspended sediments play a significant role on the overall solute and sediment bio-geochemistry of the river. It has been also observed that river water of the basin is generally alkaline with comparatively high bicarbonate, sulphate and dissolved silica concentration. Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Fecal Coliform and turbidity are observed to be the common violating parameters for most of the rivers of the basin. The higher values of TSM than TDS during monsoon season also indicate predominance of physical weathering over chemical weathering in the Brahmaputra River. The un-treated sewage waste and effluents of major towns situated along the river also getting inside the main stream of river and degrading its quality for use in irrigation and drinking purposes.

write about the basin. Spread, population, industry (mining, , ecology, wildlife, society. Changes in brahmaputra river. (morphological)

2.0 Case studies

2.1 Erosion in Majuli and its geo social implications:

Majuli is the largest inhabited river island in the world. It is the seat of Assamese culture, and vaishnavite culture. The island is inhabited by ……….. people mostly of ………community and living upon ……. As a riverine island it is very much prone to floods and erosion. Infact, present area which is 421.65 sq km (Sharma and Phukan, 2004) had been reduced from 1255 sq kms in 1901, 751.31 sq kms in 1917, 564.01 sq kms in 1966-72 and 453.76 sq kms in 1996. Phukan and Sharma in 2004 calculated the avg annual rates of erosion in 1917 -1972 was 1.77 sq kms, , 1.84 sq kms from 1972 to 1996, and 6.42 sq kms from 1996 to 2001. Govt agencies have tried their best to reduce it but the trends shows it is not decreasing and new areas of erosion have been created.

As we go back in history, Majuli was once consists of 13 small islands called “chapori”, not big single one. The great earthquakes of 1897 and 1950 is what made changes in rivers and Majuli as an island was created.

Studies have indicated that the Brahmaputra river changed its course abnormally after the Great Assam Earthquake of 1950 with a magnitude of 8.6. There was a balance between sediment supply and transport up to 1950 AD, and this balance was disrupted by the great earthquake which produced severe landslides within hilly tracts, and suddenly provided a large quantum of additional sediment. ((Kotoky et. al.CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 84, NO. 7, 10 APRIL 2003 )

Descending into the plains, the extra sediment choked the river channel gradually and initiated bank erosion causing channel-widening. Moreover, there has been a gradual increase in channel slope since 1920. The riverbed of Brahmaputra has also shoaled following heavy siltation due to the construction of flood embankments, deforestation, etc. Many other towns besides Majuli, on the banks of the Brahmaputra river, are also under threat due to abnormal changes in the river course. (Kotoky et. al.CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 84, NO. 7, 10 APRIL 2003 )

From : Sharma and Phukan , Origin and some gromorphological changes of Majuli island of the Brahmaputra river in Assam, India. Geomorphology (60) 2004.

The areas which once was on the map and which no longer exits was once inhabitated and had homes, schools, govt offices, temples and monasteries, agricultural fields etc. Gradually all that was left was inside the mighty river Brahmaputra. Many people lost their life, livelihood and home. Some of the lucky and well to do families have shifted their homes to south or north of Majuli in mainland. Those who could not now live on embankments, doing daily wage jobs for meeting their daily errands. Communication is an issue which after 60 years of independence they were kept deprived off. If somebody gets seriously ill it is the nearest Jorhat they can think of which is a ferry ride away which at night and during summer months in floods are very near to impossible. With a population of 1,53,362 (2001) this becomes near to impossible.

So a study I undertook to understand the issues and citizen bearing the brunt.

Shalmora village – divided between choices

This area is inhabited by pottery community. The village Sahlmora has about 400 households, and maximum people under BPL. They leave near the river, in flood plain areas as their livelihood, pottery, needs a specific soil as raw material, which is only found near river. So every year their village is inundated and they need to take shelter in the roof of their already elevated houses, called locally as Chang Ghar. Even after the flood the water does not recede from many parts of this village, and therefore the low lying areas are becoming uunproductive due to stagnant water, neither it can be used for other purposes. I saw in many parts inside the village where water from last flood in monsoon months are trapped and looked like a bog.

An embankment was made (spar) in the village to reduce flooding in nearby areas, but it is taking a toll on this community as they are barred from going to their mines for digging the specific soil used as a raw material and pressure from Govt. departments are increasing as soil conservation is taking a main agenda in planning for Majuli. After talking with them I felt there exists a strong apathy towards this process of barring mining as well as against the embankment. I could sense their apathy towards govt machinery for not providing flood relief on time, and in adequate amount, no clean drinking water in vicinity, no present NGO programmes insight, in the name of trees- only survivors are banana trees. The pots they make is losing against the tin and plastic more durable tumblers, and their markets which exists more than 100 km from the place in town areas like Tinsukia, Dhemaji is shrinking. Once upon a time in 90s, these were the field areas where AVARD-NE and Sanjay Ghosh had worked for reducing soil erosion and well being of people, even after so many years they proudly utter his name. Many of them said that there exists some patches in the eroding banks which was stabilized during Sanjay’s time with plantation whereas the rock and boulder dams are trying very hard to contain ingression of water. I could not ascertain because due to short schedule in the evening I could not visit those areas, but I promised myself to return again. After these initial talk with village women I went to one house, and met a lady Mrs. RupaHazarika, who is by profession a potter. Her husband’s ancestral village had been washed away in flood in 90s and now the place is hundred feet under Brahmaputra. She makes the pots and he goes out to sell them in Tinsukia or Dhemaji by boat. She gave me a demonstration on how labouriously they mine, which may be many miles away, dug out the specific soil near the river, and transport it via hired pickup. After this a very tedious process of pot making involved without any kind of machinery, only with some indigenous tools and plates as given below.

without any kind of machinery they carve out pots on discs called “Athali”, by moving it with the thumb of their foot. I asked them how much do they make in one year by selling the pots. They told that they work for six months in one season and make around 300 pieces a month or avg 1500 in one season. These fetch Rs. 15 per piece in local market in Majuli and upto Rs. 50 outside. By this way they make around Rs. 80,000 -90,000 every year excluding the ever increasing costs of carriage and transportation. I went to some other houses of SarupaiHazarika, Deokan Bora, Dileep Bora, Puna Bora, MinotiKalita, PradeepKalita and many others. Mr. Dilip Bora showed me to a mark in his house where the flood water had reached. By standing on the ground I could guess it to be more than 8 feet from ground and even his elevated changghar could not escape it.

Fig: A house in Shalmora Village showing flood marks on wall of Chang Ghar When asked about any training on enhancing their skills, they pointed out to one programme on which at least 10 boys were trained on making vase, diya etc by NEADS NGO (North East Affected Areas Development Society, Jorhat). But as was evident they it is the women in the village who are expert in pottery and not man. So result after the training programme is doubtful as came out with discussion with the ladies. I aasked other amenities like water, health care etc. and it came out that everyone in the village is drinking directly from the river by fetching in pitchers. Though I could not ascertain, but all of them said that they have not received any tubewell or any other structures from Govt dept. for availing drinking water.

Rengam Womens Cooperative Society and villages of Koliapani – Displaced but not disheartened, weaving their dreams through their cloths.

The Rengam Women’s Cooperative Society is an all women group and all of them belong to a single community i.e. Mishing Community. The word “Rengam” is in Mishing which means gathering for a cause. Almost all of them are good weavers and I could see their much cherished products of various colors, with traditional mishing designs on different materials lined up in showcases. As I came to know they started as some small SHGs (44 in nos.) an initiative in 2009 by IMPACT-NE for craft based livelihood. Many of the SHGs could not thrive, but the active womens were gathered from all over the island by an Israeli Girl named GiliNevon. This initiative is what created the Rengam Cooperative in 2014. Rengam mainly is a craft based cooperative but also involved in Mishing culture promotion in the form of dance and food and women empowerment. Tourists mostly foreign, often visits to get aquainted with mishing traditional food and culture. There are separate committee comprising experts among them for creating designs and raising orders. These are discussed on 4th day of every month in meeting along with monitoring of their work. After approving the designs and orders , the members are given the charge of the weaving material as per demand as loan from the society. They are given fixed time and date of collection of the material is pre decided. After return of the finished product they are checked for quality and payments are made depending upon the product, for example the MishingSadar (a kind of sari) may fetch them Rs.1000. The society than does the pricing for the market by adding cost of raw material, transportation etc. and adds a 20% profit margin for the society. These Sadars start from 1500 and goes upto 6000 and is a craze among the Assam elite and foreigners. But all of their life is not so simple, as was evident when we talked about their previous village which was swept away as well as their home and livelihood. They are staying like refuges near the bund, with meager supplies. They pointed out to three schools on the road that had been swept away and now the three schools operating in the same compound. I asked about their displaced member’s villages they gave out names like – UporSumoimari, NamoniSumoimari, Xukulamukh, KaniaJaan, UporSonowal, NamoniSonowal, Botiamari, Alimur, Nam Botimari, JaroniSonowal. Now their female members have been engaged in these craft and tourism and their male members are working on daily wages in Majuli in some other peoples home and fields with wages around 150-300. For the secretary whose village was about 4 kms away from the place called Koliajan, was swept away and they had to shift 4 times since various floods and erosion over 18 years. The same case applies to all the members and nearby areas which are much dependant on the river for their livelihood. I asked about Govt. help which sadly they have not been left out. Drinking water has also been a problem as the area in nearby where they are living now has evidence of arsenic. They said that the bore well from where they have been getting drinking water was tested positive from a survey and it was abandoned. The recent tubewel from where they are getting now were found safe. I asked whether they had recently checked, the answer was negative. This had led me to question whether other member have ever tested for arsenic the answer as expected was no. Then I had to aware them about drinking arsenic contained water and ill effect of it, and how to test though crudely, with guava leaf. This is being practiced in Bangladesh and read about effectiveness of it. They said that they are going to voluntarily collect water and send for local department whether to check it has arsenic or not. I am arranging from Guwahati talking with WSSO Department here to get it done. I asked about any help where I can fit into, they said they need technical help in erosion control, as well as govt. support in generating livelihood, and value addition training as well as clean drinking water supply.

Fig: Rengam women showing their products (Left) and Meeting (Right)

Fig: Koliapani village on left with vast tracts of wasteland which are inundated during flood, on right Rengam House.

Bharalu: A polluted urban river in Guwahati

The river Bharalu originates from Khasi hills of Meghalaya, the river bifurcates into two, a) Basistha River, which drains into Deepor Beel, a Ramsar Site; b) Bahini river or in downstream stretch known as Bharalu which flows through densest and commercial areas of Guwahati and drains into Brahmaputra at Bharalumukh (mouth of Bharalu). The sub- basin is located within the coordinates of 25°59’ to 26°11’ North and 91°43’ to 91°51’ East. It is regarded as one of the most polluted rivers in India. The most polluted stretches of the river are Sixth Mile, G.S. Road, Zoo Road, Bhangagarh, Athgaon and Bharalumukh. The refinery waste water discharging from the Indian Oil Corporation Refinery at Noonmati drains directly into the Bharalu. The waste water from households, commercial/business establishments, and small to medium industries within the city flows directly into the Bharalu River through the system of mutually interconnected drains. (source: City Sanitation Plan, PCB, Assam).

Guwahati is the only metropolitan city in North East India, regarded as gateway of the region, boasting a population of 9,57,352 living in an area of 215 sq km. (Census 2011). Flourishing as one of the fastest developing city in India, is harbor to many industries, institutions along with habitations, slums etc. As a case with many of the developing cities in India; unplanned developments, rapid urbanization has contributed to many environmental issues like pollution of air, water, flash floods, municipal waste, degradation of existing water bodies and depletion of ground water table. Flash floods have been an annual occurrence, with deadly consequences on many occasions, as flood water drainage is not adequate or gets clogged by waste dump as well as degradation of the river Bharalu through pollution, encroachment and large scale land use change which is depleting the natural water bodies. A study by IITG, shows that Guwahati is expected to rise its solid waste generation to around 2660 tons per day in 2014, of which around 54.4 % of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) is from domestic sources and commercial establishment contribute 17.8 %. A staggering 15.2 % arises from street cleaning and drain sweeping. Among which food and fruit vegetables dominates with 37.4 % followed by paper and plastic, 17.4 %. Not included here are the liquid waste generated by domestic sector and industries and establishments as well as those wastes that find their way to drains and ultimately the river Bharalu, many a times polluting and obstructing the flow. The river Bharalu is regarded by CPCB as one of the 71 most polluted river in India.

2.2 Wetlands in Assam:

Wetlands serves many purposes for the environment as well as people. For the environment it serves as habitat of aquatic life, fish, amphibians, algae, reptiles and different flora. It also helps in groundwater recharge and works as recycle bin for the wastes. It also catches storm water runoff. For migratory bird species it serves as breeding ground which flock in herds in winters. For many people it serves as livelihood and life. It serves the water for drinking and other household courses, food for people as well as fishing and tourism as economic activities for many people. As evident from above they are the heart of ecosystem for a place. Assam as well as north east India is blessed with vast interconnected network of wetland and river system. According to National wetland atlas of India in Assam there are estimated 11178 wetlands covering an area 764732 hactares. This include Natural wetlands lakes, ponds, river streams , ox bow lakes as well as man made reserviours , tanks which account for 9.74 % of the total geographical area.

The threats to these wetlands pollution, siltation, encroachment, change in land use and for the aquatic resources are over exploitation, over and illegal fishing.

2.2.1 Deepor beel : A ramsar site

Deepor Beel is a fresh water lake with an area of 589 hectares in near vicinity of Guwahati Assam. It is an important biodiversity spot and is famous for its bird life. It is also regarded as a Ramsar Site, in 2002, for its water bird life heritage and is the sole Ramsar site in the state of Assam and second in North East India after . It was declared as wild life sanctuary in January, 2009.

A large variety of aquatic flora of tropical wetland is found in Deepor Beel and its adjoining areas. The dominant aquatic plants include Azolla pinnata, Nymphaea rubra, Ottelia alismoides, Eleocharis plantaginea, Pistia stratiotes ,Hydrilla verticillata, Potamogeton crispus, Ipomoea reptans, Sagittaria sagittifolia, Nymphaea albea, Vallisneria spiralis. The giant water lily (Euryale ferox) also grows here. Eichhornia crassipes is the dominate weed. The diversity and concentration of indigenous fresh water fish species in this lake is very high (around50 species under 19 families). It harbors many species of migratory birds in winter as well as resident birds. Around 150 species of birds have been recorded so far in and around the Sanctuary, including nine threatened species. The wetland is used for fishery, domestic water supply, collection of natural products, fodder and food supply, transport, and recreation.

The issues with Deepor Beel is Heavy siltation, pollution from city/industry effluents, poaching and unregulated fishing, encroachment.

2.2.2 Elenga beel: Elenga is lake which is situated Elenga 92010′E 260 05′N Monoha 920 09′E 26012′N Elenga beel is situated near the Nagaon paper mill, 5 km eastward from Jagiroad town . Elenga is an effluent receiving water body from Nagaon paper mill , Two drains carrying PME drains to Elenga Beel which after traveling at a distance of 25 km downstream meets River Kolong/Kopili a tributary of mighty river Brahmaputra (Saikia and Lohar, 2012)

A comparative study was taken by Barbaruah et al. (2012), of Elenga , which receives paper mill effluent from Nagaon Paper Mill, and that of Monoha Beel 14 kms from the mill which does not receive effluent. The study indicated the water pH to be ranging from 6.4-10.4 in premonsoon and 8.2-10.3 in the monsoon . It also showed high total alkalinity and high conductivity, high chloride, high organic carbon and very low DO or dissolved oxygen level than the other which is located in the same locality.

The result is that only air breathing fishes (6 species only) like Clarius batrachus, Heteropneustis fosilis, Anabus testudinus, Channa gachua, Channa punctatus , Monopterus cuchia were reported where as despite of proximity the Monoha Beel is reported having 56 species of different species. The paper concluded that though the beels are from the same locality , paper mill effluent not only impact the water quality but also alter the distribution and abundance of fish species of Elenga beel.

(Source: A comparative study of impact of water and soil quality on fish diversity of Monoha beel and Elenga beel of Morigaon, India, Barbaruah et. al. The Clarion Volume 1 Number 2 (2012) PP 94-100)

2.3 Kopili river acid mine drainage :

Kopili is a river in lower Assam and South bank Tributary of the river Brahmaputra. Kopili river orginates in the plataeu of Meghalaya in Saipung Reserve Forest and enters the Assam Valley through its southern part. The river Kopili, further, flows through Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon and Kamrup districts of Assam before joining the river Brahmaputra.

The river is 290 km in length and the basin area is 16,420 square kilometers. It is an interstate river which originates in the hills of Meghalaya and ends in Assam.

There is an irrigation scheme under the name Kopili Flow Irrigation Scheme in irrigates 1,300 hectares (3,200 acres) of land across 14 revenue villages and facilitates paddy cultivation.

The Kopili Hydro Electric Project, located across the districts of North Cachar Hills in Assam and Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya and run by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation, consists of the Khandong and Umrongso dams and their reservoirs and three power houses that have a total installed capacity of 275 MW.

The river has a picturisque journey with many waterfalls and rapids from Meghalaya plateu when it enters the hill drisrict of Dima Hasao of Assam. Unlike other rivers of Brahmaputra its issues are unique. Its a case of peoples struggle for livelihood, rat hole mining in upstream and causing environmental damage in the form of acid mine drainage, damaging the water quality beyond drinkable limit, killing of aqua flora and fauna as well as damaging of machinaries of Kopili Power house downstream.

The Jaintia hills districts of Meghalaya are one of the main centres of local coal production. Most of the mining activities are small scale ventures controlled by individuals who own the land. The coal mining and allied activities has been the main livelihood option for its local population and people who comes from outside. But it is taking a toll on the social life and its rich bioresource region. A vast area has become physically disfigured due to haphazard dumping of overburden, caving in of the ground and subsidence of land (Singh et al. 2004). And after lots of hue and cry NGT banned the coal mining in the region on 17/04/2014, amidst lots of protest from local population and political organisations.

After the coal mining ban by NGT, the CM of Meghalaya said that the state had lost 600 crore of revenue. (Down to Earth, 31st March 2015).

The acid mine drainage is rendering the Kopili river and its tributarie's water to reach pH level as low as 2 at many places. (Sharma et al. 2011) .

On policy levele also, the CM Mukul Sangma himself said that the Meghalaya Mines and Mineral Policy, 2012, was in conflict with the Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957 and Coal Mines Nationalisation Act, 1973. (Down to Earth, 31st March 2015).

In a paper by Sharma et al. pointed out that equipment failure in the Hydro electric power station was due to corrosion which is again due to acid mine drainage in the river, “it was observed that the crisis was due to corrosion / metal erosion in the power plant equipments. Since 2006-07 Corrosion / metal erosion in most of the equipments in the Power Station that come in contact with the reservoir water during operation have been observed conspicuously at an unprecedented rate. Even the stainless steel components of the power stations were found to be corroded”

1. Sharma et al., “Acid mine discharge – Challenges met in a hydro power project ”International Journal Of Environmental Sciences” Volume 1, No 6, 2011

2. Singh. O.P, “Status Of Water Quality In Coal Mining Areas Of Meghalaya, India”, National Seminar on Environmental Engineering with special emphasis on Mining Environment, NSEEME-2004, 19-20, March 2004. 3. Sharma, J.N, “Asamar Nad Nadi”, Assam Sahitya Sabha, 1993. 4. Mahanta.K, “ Structural Formation & Seismicity of Kopili Fault Region in North- East India and Estimation of Its Crustal Velocity”, International Journal of Modern Engineering Research, 2012. 5. Down to Earth 6. WRIS

CAUSES AND effects

2.4 Pukhuris and temple ponds status in north east India (Jai sagar, jur pukhuri)

Ponds and tanks plays functional as well as spiritual purposes in our daily life in North East India. Our cuisine is full of fishes that are cultivated in these tanks. As a spiritual part these are the places where every ceremony either takes place on the banks or take water from these ponds in the household. Be it for agriculture, kitchen gardens, household course etc. Community fisheries have also is a binding place of different communities in Assam through common fishing during the festive season.

There used to be a pond and tank in each household in Assam. It is common in Assamese to bless the owner of the house by traveling dance parties during festive season by “pukhurit mash, potharot dhan, barit tamul paan” which means he is blessed with fish in ponds, paddy in fields and ereca nut and betel in garden. These ponds are now loosing importance in the urban as well as semi urban context. These are now prone to,

a. land use change to paddy fields, house extension, garden extension

b. eutrophication, c. Recent highway widening and road building

d. Pollution

e. Dried

The result is that

1. many fish species that used to abundant in these areas became rare.

2. depending upon more on the fish market

3. aquatic medicinal plant species are becoming rarer.

4. Ground water table, and recharge is going down every year even in remote areas.

2.5 Temple ponds in Assam is altogether a different story,

Temple ponds in Assam have religious importance, they are the seat for the Snans, Yagna etc. Many of them are well kept and cleaned regularly but still it is used as for religious purposes they get dirty when offerings are provided. One interesting fact is that these temple ponds harbour many turtle species of endemic as well endangered. There was a study done by Help Earth organization on the status and conservation of turtle species in the temple ponds.

There are 29 species of turtles present in India and 21 are reported among them from North East India and 19 are reported from Assam only. They have studied 14 temple ponds and 2 lakes of importance where turtles are either present or are reared. They are 1.Gorokhiya Gohai Than, Sorbhog, 2. Haigrib Madhab Temple, Hajo, 3. Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati 4. Ugrotara Temple, Guwahati, 5. Nagshankar Temple, Tezpur, 6. Deopani, Karbi Anglong, 7. Athkheliya Temple, Golaghat, 8. Barokheliya Temple, Sarupathar, 9. Kedar Temple, Hajo, 10. Dhareshwari Devalaya, Silguri, 11. Mandir Devalaya, Golaghat, 12. Srimanta Shankardev Namghar, Golaghat, 13. Hatigarh Dewal, Jorhat, 14. Bor Pukhuri, Sivasagar. They found 12 turtle species in all, existing in these temple ponds namely Nilssonia gangetica, Nilssonia hurum, Nilssonia nigricans, Pangshura tentoria, Pangshura tecta, Pangshura sylhetensis, Pangshura smithii, Chitra indica, Geoclemys hamiltonii, Hardella thurjii, Lissemys punctata, Melanochelys trijuga with Haigrib Madhab Temple showing the highest turtle diversity.

2.5.1 TARANGA Jur Pukhuri initiative:

Many a times it is reported in the news about mass fish death in these temple ponds. One recent was from Ugratara Temple pond. A recent fish death has been reported in Jur Pukhuri temple pond which TARANGA citizen action team consisting B.Borooah College students and teachers as well TISS organized a study.

Jur means twin and pukhuri in assamese is for tank. These are twin tanks are one of the relics from past Ahom Dynasty. Constructed during reign of King Shiva Singha in 1720 AD. A temple is situated on the bank called as Ugra Tara famous among shakti peeth pilgrims, local as well as tourists. Previously constructed as one, the tank during British reign was divided into two and a road was constructed in between. Presently among the twin tanks (of more than 4 bigha each), only one is in the hands of temple authority, which is in far better condition than the other one. The other tank which temple authorities say is with Guwahati Metropolitan Corporation (GMC), is totally dead, full of weed, algal bloom and more looks like a marshy land than a tank.

The other tank which comes under Ugra Tara Temple authorities harbors rare turtle species as reported Nilossonia hurum (VU), Nilosonia nigricans (EW), Pangshura tentoria (LC), Pangshura tecta (LC), Pangshura sylhetensis (EN), Geoclemys hemiltonii (VU), the denotion in brackets are for IUCN red list category, VU-vulnerable, LC – least concern , EN – endangered and EW – extinct in wild. Among these Pangshura sylhetensis or Assam Roofed Turtle is endangered whereas Nilosonia nigricans or Black soft shell turtle is extinct in wild i.e. no population outside captivity are known to exist. Studies report 40 - 50 turtle individuals in the site, though nearby people quote more than 200.The tank contain fish species like tilapia (introduced), Catla etc. The temple harbors more than 250 individuals.

The issues with the pond as the team have seen People offering (Pinda) after puja is done. Bakery Breads (not rotis) are being offered for the swans as well as turtles. In addition concrete embankment is made all around the pond, due to short sightedness of authorities, which makes the turtles difficult to make it to the shore for breeding. Even if they make it to the shore there is very scanty space for the turtles to breed and reports says that the pond is small to hold this much population of turtles. Scientific management is in total absent in the pond. The tilapia fish was introduced by authority thinking of having na extra source of income for the temple, a year back. The plan seems now have backfired as the victims of this mass death are mainly tilapia fishes starting from fingerlings 2-3 inch to one foot as the team have observed. The justification about concretizing the pond given by authorities is that they wanted to beautify the pond and make it as a swimming pool for children, but they forgot about the turtles of various sizes present there which could have made mere entering the water impossible.

Our observation : The water is pungent smelling, eutrophied and were stretches were full of bread crumbs. we talked to them and took samples for to the lab in B Borooah College, which led normal results. We continued it for a week as it may indicate changes in dissolved oxygen concentration which could have made the fishes to die. All of our tests yielded normal DO level, around 9.6 . Even the samples given to Pollution Control Board tested normal. Reports termed it as overpopulation of tilapia may be the cause for the fish death. We then took some dead fish samples and opened the gills, to our surprise the gills were stuffed with mud and glui substance. So in the next step we came there with plankton nets which to carry possible infestation of algae as the lake water is slight dark green in color. Under microscope it showed zooplanktons and phytoplanktons in abundance. What caught our notice that of a Phytoplankton Protoderma virdae. This in our samples came in abundance as network of algal filaments. Though it is too early to connect the death of fishes only due to the asphyxiation or choking of gills by alage as more tests need to be carried out. But it came out as the water there is eutrophied if not now will pose a problem in near future not even to the health of water body but also the rare turtles and biodiversity it holds 2.6

Dams and people?

India’s first prime minister once said the Dams are the temples of modern India. Role of dams in developing and powering the economy of India is immense. And for its elevation and other factors like flow, discharge of its tributaries with such a huge potential power generating capacity of 31012 MW is a lucrative deal for people as well as for the state. And rightly it was thought of about the economic boom it can generate for the people when Arunachal Pradesh Government commenced 168 huge dams across the state with an output expected at 63,000 MW. The national hydropower policy provides 12 % of total output to the state, in that way the Arunachal Pradesh is gaining 7,560 MW for free. But the question is being raised on justification of constructing these dams by many prominent voices in Arunachal and in low lying areas in Assam. It is always in conbtention that the demand of power in Arunachal prdesh is around 105 MW and the surplus power if sold to other states can give the State an amount in the rounds of 10,000 crore in revenue. Another factor is the population it may displace, onsite as well as off site through increasing the magnitude and frequency of floods downstream. The North East India is also harbors one of the two biodiversity hotspots in India and ecologically very important having ……… many species of plants…….. animals ……. Aquatic animals in its rivers of which ….. are endemic to the region only as well as with ….. National Parks and …… wild life sanctuaries. The latest two projects like the Subanshiri and Dibang valley came under scrutiny of the people as well as local experts. The Subanshiri is seeing violent protests from the groups as due to flood havoc and environmental implications it can create in downstream. Proposed dibang valley project is located in naturally pristine areas of Arunachal Pradesh and is also nearer to Dibru Saikhowa Tiger reserve. In case of Dibang valley the mandatory EIA and NOC from Ministry of Forests was not sought.

The subanshiri river where the dam was approved is also habitat of Gangetic River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) which is endemic and endangered animal and it is expected that dams will have derogatory effect on the life of these aquatic mammals.

Another factor which is raising many eyebrows is the active tectonic forces which hinders the safety of these gravity dams and does not make the dams full proof from these unseen natural forces.

All these factors concerned , where is the middle line? There are people for the dams who are justifying the steps and those who are against these who are also having a valid point. A geographically and critical area as the Arunachal

2.7 Environmental degradation in basin

Way to look forward