The solution to stop flood devastation in Assam every year

Before every state election, the Bharatiya Janata Party talks about the “double engine sarkar”. It means that the central and state governments will work together to better the state if the BJP is in power. The state of Assam has a BJP government. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is one of the most pragmatic BJP leaders for northeast India who shares a great equation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the top brass of the saffron party. Despite these equations, the state and the centre have done little for the state's environmental conservation. Every year, Assam witnesses devastating floods and the state needs immediate attention for environmental conservation.  

Each year, Assam is destroyed by the monsoons. Even as the monsoon has yet to arrive, the state has already been devastated by floods and landslides that have resulted in 15 deaths and an estimated 7 lakh people displaced. In particular, Dima Hasao, a hill district in the state's hills, has been ravaged by flash floods and landslides, causing the district's connectivity to become disconnected.

How deforestation has increased chances of landslide

The northeastern region, including parts of Assam, is prone to earthquakes that cause landslides. During earthquakes and landslides, debris often ends up in rivers, causing the riverbed to rise upwards. This year, an unprecedented number of landslides occurred in several districts of south Assam. Dima Hasao and Cachar districts were the worst affected by the landslides. According to media reports, over five people lost their lives in Haflong town, which is the headquarters of the Diam Hasao district. The railway track in this area connects south Assam with the rest of the country. The landslides have washed away this track.

The key reason behind such devastation is massive deforestation. A number of development projects have been going on in this vulnerable hill region for years. These projects did not maintain any timeline, which has caused havoc in terms of the environment of this area. For example, from 1997, the work of the Lumding-Badarpur railway line went on. The project was completed around 2015. According to several reports and experts, this project has flouted environmental safeguards. This has made the area highly prone to landslides.

Bank erosion in Assam increased without any sustainable interventions

The banks of the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers, as well as their tributaries, have also eroded in Assam. Every year, nearly 8000 hectares of land are lost to erosion. The width of the Brahmaputra river has increased by up to 15 kilometres as a result of bank erosion. The annual cost of bank erosion is estimated to be several hundred crores. Dams, on the other hand, have proven to be a difficult solution, especially in flood-prone areas.

 Although they aid in the regulation of floodwater release, the release may exceed the capacity of downstream channels. Several protests took place to stop the rampant construction of dams. 

The government indeed stalled some dam projects, but what it did was more dangerous. The authorities built a number of embankments on the rivers. These are neither sustainable nor long-term solutions. These embankments wash away, and the chances of flooding increase multifold.  

Over dependency on unplanned dredging and ad-hoc measures 

Studies and ground reports from Assam have pointed out that the state government has been dependent on dredging as a solution to the sedimentation of the Brahmaputra river. Dredging is where the authorities dig the riverbed deeper. This helps to increase the capacity of sedimentation. However, this method is dangerous, as per the experts. 

According to research conducted by the Environment Agency of the UK government, "In the majority of cases, they are not the most efficient or sustainable ways of reducing flood risk and may increase flood risk to downstream communities. Natural processes in many rivers mean silt will return and accumulate in the same places very quickly, sometimes only weeks after dredging and desilting have been carried out. Therefore, any increase in channel capacity will be short-lived. This is particularly evident in tidal rivers, with each tide bringing in new accumulations of silt."

Climate change and massive rainfall

Climate change in India is impacting every state. This year, several states like Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh witnessed an unprecedented heatwave. Similarly, Assam has witnessed massive pre-monsoon rainfall. In Assam, the average rainfall for the period of March 1 to May 20 is 434.5 mm, but this year's equivalent is 719 mm. The excess is 65%. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, this is much more than required.  The unplanned environmental devastation, construction and lack of measures have increased the effects of climate change in Assam. 

What are the solutions

For a solution, first, it's important to acknowledge the problem. The state and the central government should come together to deal with the flood of Assam. Here, the centre has a more pragmatic role to play because environmental disasters are not restricted to one state. The need of the hour is that the northeastern states like Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh must come together to form a long term plan of environmental conservation. 

The management of floods requires long-term, non-structural measures as well. It is important to manage the catchment areas, for which all countries, including China upstream, should be engaged. The state government cannot do this work because it involves another country. Therefore, in this case, too, the centre must take the lead. The centre and the state should also work on developing better flood management and prediction systems. This work must go on round the clock across the year. Flood zoning means finding out and marking the vulnerable areas where no construction work should happen. 

It is past time for the BJP to bring long-term and sustainable solutions to the Assam floods now that it has an effective CM and a double-engine government. Every year, residents of the state lose their lives, their homes, and their land. Power should bring with it the will to address larger issues, and the Assam flood is one of the issues facing the BJP government.