Bridge Over the Brahmaputra

CONTENDING WATER USES Bridge over the Brahmaputra The island of Majuli on the river Brahmaputra has been under constant threat from floods as well as rising erosion levels. Tension has simmered between development agencies responsible for flood control and the local people who have opposed the structural measures. The proposed Bogibeel bridge has evoked concerns that the conflict will see an escalation. CHANDAN MAHANTA, ANJANA MAHANTA intrude on the river but for the most part the Brahmaputra flows between sandy I banks that are subject to many changes in Islands in the Stream its course [Goswami 2001]. The physiography of Majuli is charac- he mega two-tier Bogibeel bridge terised by an extremely dynamic flow is the fourth to be constructed under system; the ecology is unique and there is Tthe National Rail Vikas Yojana and a constant threat of flood and erosion. The also the fourth to be built on the river island forms a significant part of the vast Brahmaputra in India. The bridge is meant alluvial flood plain of the Brahmaputra, to connect Dibrugarh in the south to dominated by a profusion of depositional Lakhimpur in the north; the rail link will land forms including sandbars, bed-forms, join Chaulkhowa station and Sisibargaon- and abandoned channels, not to mention Siripani located on the river’s opposite vast lengths of wetland. The danger from banks. The construction is expected to be floods and erosion has intensified signifi- completed by 2009. The bridge will fulfil cantly after the great Assam earthquake of a long-felt need of the people of Upper 1950 that measured 8.7 on the Richter Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The hitch scale. It triggered extensive sediment is the Majuli Island, located downstream transport, accelerated the rate of erosion, of the proposed bridge. caused the riverbed to rise and is respon- Majuli used to be the largest inhabited sible for frequent channel changes. The river island in the world – its area is 875 sq km threat from erosion has been particularly and population, 1,60,000. It is located in the severe in recent times and the size of the mid-reaches of the Brahmaputra in Assam, island has shrunk from 1,246 sq km in 1950 about 630 km upstream of the Assam- to 875 sq km at present. Bangladesh border. Majuli is located in the broadest part of the Brahmaputra valley, II where the river divides the erstwhile district Turbulent Waters of Sibsagar and Lakhimpur. The island is tucked into an isolated block with Mikir Water has always been associated with hills on one side and Dafla hills on the progress; the world’s greatest civilisations other; both ranges are not too far from the have sprung up on the banks of rivers. But river. At a few places the hills actually in this instance life-giving water has Economic and Political Weekly February 18, 2006 579 jeopardised life and development in Majuli, the gravity of the problem and till now no The PWD is yet to survey the Kulajan even as the island is vying for recognition attempt has been made to undertake a to Kaba stretch of the land allotted for as a world heritage site. Flood manage- detailed technical survey either to cor- construction of a service road connected ment here is carried out entirely by govern- roborate or disprove the stand taken by the with the project. The villagers have been ment agencies. Due to a sustained loss of people. In a related development villagers demanding a proper study and the fertile land to the river, there is a simmer- were evicted near the bridge construction TMPK has submitted a memorandum to ing tension between the local people and site without adequate compensation; this the general manager, Northeast Frontier these agencies about the merit of the struc- triggered a year long agitation by the railways stating that the land belongs to tural measures taken for erosion control Mishing Students Union. However even poor farmers. until now. People’s apprehension has been that dispute has been dormant due to the This is a project rife with controversies. fuelled by worries over the construction extremely slow pace of construction. Ironi- Not only has there been a lack of a com- of the Bogibeel bridge less than 100 km cally, erosion and floods at the project site prehensive feasibility study on the part of upstream. Therefore, instead of welcom- forced railway authorities to halt construc- the authorities, but the issue also involves ing the bridge as essential infrastructure tion work twice last year. displacement, loss of land and livelihood; that will lead to better connectivity for the It appears as if the construction of an- the lack of transparency and public par- people of the island, people are afraid that other rail-cum-road bridge was of more ticipation in decision-making has made it it will escalate erosion. There has been importance to the government than the a target of wrath. growing concern over the lack of special people of the island. The state administra- environmental impact assessment includ- tion did propose to set up a strategic plan- Progress vs Traditional Lifestyles ing hydraulic modelling or a sound envi- ning system but no concrete steps have ronmental management plan for mitigat- been taken in that direction so far. If the conflict persists and all the stake- ing the adverse impact of the bridge prior Unfortunately, though the issue has been holders maintain their rigid stand, the to its construction. It is this issue that has covered in some local and regional lan- traditional Mishing society with its hierar- emerged as a major cause of conflict. guage dailies it has not received the kind chical social structure and distinct cultural The feasibility study carried out by the of media attention it deserves. Though traits will be greatly affected. The loss of railways was reportedly restricted to the there is no activism at this time, things land will not merely destroy a traditional structural safety of the bridge and did not might take an ugly turn in the future. The resource base and the economy of the cover its impact on the Majuli island or Majulis are essentially a peace-loving region, it will also have a severe impact other vulnerable areas in Dhemaji and community and have remained remark- on the social fabric of the community. Lakhimpur districts. The Majuli Suraksha ably restrained until now in spite of a lack Land, kinship, power centres, wealth and Samity, a local NGO, asserted that the of political support. religion are all inter-related. Sudden and design of the bridge is based on Parkar The problem with the Mishing tribe arose far-reaching change in even one of these Stability Analysis; for a stable river course, after the railways had completed the rail components will affect the other aspects this is applicable only in the case of stream- approach through a 23.6 km stretch that as well and thereby hurt the entire culture. lining watercourses within the guarded covered 19 villages in three mouzas. A Changes like this may lead to stress and reach below the bridge. Pointing to the total of 19 cases of land acquisition were adaptation problems for the people, and devastation already caused by erosion the framed for acquiring about 1300 bighas of eventually sow seeds of discontent. On the people say that it was not the forces of land from these villages. But the Mishing other hand, if the idea of the bridge is nature that were responsible for loss of land Students Union began their agitation from abandoned and shifted to another location, mass as much as erroneous decisions to February 2002 and the eviction drive has the local population will most certainly close natural flood-ways like the Kherkatia not yet been executed. The railway au- lose out on valuable opportunities for Suti and the Tuni river; construction of thorities had released around Rs 5 crore economic development. multiple dykes; building of roads that to district officials to initiate the compen- crisscross the island with scant regard for sation procedure. The Assam government IV flood water storage etc. There is growing fixed the value of land at Rs 70,000 per Tough Choices discontent over the indifference of the bigha but there was discrepancy in calcu- project authority with the result that the lations; the amount fixed for tribal areas The vociferous protest by the Majuli issue is snowballing into a major conflict was only Rs 17,000. Also, the terms were Suraksha Samiti against the construction involving the entire population of the island. not too clear and did not specify whether of the Bogibeel bridge is based on earlier compensation would be paid in case of unpleasant experiences when, during and III accelerated bank erosion; it would have after the construction of three bridges over Question of Compensation been difficult to link the erosion with the the Brahmaputra, there followed an en- construction of the bridge. hanced braiding of the river course leading The conflict over the issue of erosion is The strong opposition from the All Assam to unprecedented floods and erosion in at an early stage; there are protests by the Mishing Students Union (AAMSU), lo- villages located immediately downstream local population and local NGOs like the cally known as Takam Mishing Poring from the site (Palasbari, Gumi downstream Majuli Suraksha Parishad. The people have Kebang (TMPK), and the local people of Saraighat bridge, Morigaon, Nagaon not yet taken the matter to court, appar- have put a question mark on the timely region downstream of Koliabhomora ently for lack of sufficient outside sup- completion of the Rs 1,700 crore Bogibeel bridge and Dakshin Salmara, Pancharatna port and hard scientific evidence.

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