The Hindu : National : Majuli may lose heritage tag

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 17, 2007
ePaper

National

National

Majuli may lose heritage tag

The river island faces threat from the Brahmaputra

Referred to as Assam’s cultural capital
Massive erosion has led to shrinking of land holdings

Guwahati: The riverine island of Majuli, a nominee for classification as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, could fade into the waters of the mighty Brahmaputra even before the long-deserved recognition arrives.

The world’s largest river island has been nominated for a berth in the world heritage list for the second consecutive time this year after an unsuccessful bid last year.

However, official sources said the island may lose the tag , as the waters of the Brahmaputra are threatening to cut it into two parts.

The waters are cutting into the island at Somobari. Once they wash away the Kamalabari-Bongaon road, the waters may wipe out Kamalabari, which houses three “satras” or monasteries, a college and over 20 villages. The river is now just 100 metres from the road.

Within a few years, the river may elbow its way through the island, cutting it into two parts, experts said.

Worse still, massive erosion by the Brahmaputra has seen the land holdings of the islanders shrink by the day. According to reports, the river erodes up to 75 square metres of land every hour during floods.

Statistics available with the Department of Applied Geology of the Dibrugarh University state that the island had an area of about 1,255 sq.km in 1901. A survey done in 2001 showed that this had been reduced to 377 sq.km.

The island, part of Assam’s Jorhat district, is a multi-faceted area that has nourished a civilization of the Vaisnavite culture for over five centuries and has been referred to as Assam’s cultural capital.

Majuli houses 22 ‘satras’ that are seats of Vaishnavite learning and propagate the teachings of the revered Assamese scholar Srimanta Shankardev.

“We have approached the government and are mobilising support and awareness for saving the island,” Pitambar Dev Goswami chief of the main Vaishnavite monastry of Auniati, said.

A delegation of the satra chiefs is likely to meet the Prime Minister for the second time in two years to press for damage-control measures.

New Delhi released Rs. 3.83 crore last month for the development of Majuli as a heritage and eco- tourism destination. — PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National