Arun Bhuiya is a potter in Majuli district of Assam, around 1420 miles from Delhi, the Nation’s capital.
The 50-year-old resides at Salmora village in Majuli which is the largest river island in the world surrounded by ferocious river Brahmaputra also known as “sorrow of Assam” because of the devastation caused by floods every year.
LS polls 2024: Majuli, the largest river island in the world grapples with the problem of massive soil erosion
The village is located just five-hundred meters away from the river and it’s a matter of time before the river like a hungry demon would devour the village and wipe out its presence completely.
Salmora is a potters’ village with two thousand people involved in this profession and staying amidst the danger of the sneaking river and dying business, “We have been making pottery items for ages and our ancestors were also involved in the same business. They made good profits and lived a comfortable life,” said Arun Bhuiya, 50, while standing outside his manufacturing unit.
“The situation, however, is not the same anymore as the business is fast declining due to shortage of mud caused by the soil erosion that has been pushing us closer to the mouth of the river inch by inch every day. We don’t know how long we might survive in this condition.”
His fears are not unfounded as rapid soil erosion caused by the Brahmaputra river has been squeezing the island every day.
Majuli was has reduced in size from 1250 square kilometer at the beginning of the 20th century to 483 sq. kilometers by 2014, as per the government records.
It is feared that the island might disappear from the global map after some years if timely action is not taken to stop the erosion.
The dying island has already created shortage of mud for potters as the local administration has banned the collection of mud from the river to check erosion, “We are facing severe crisis of mud to make our pottery items. Earlier, the mud was available for free on the river bank but now we have to purchase from outside leading to the escalation of our raw material cost. But the customers refuse to pay us high price. We have to continue with this profession as there is no alternative here,” pointed out Changdoi Chomua, a woman potter.
The 60-year-old rued that she barely earns around Rs 1000 ($12) per month after toiling for 4-5 hours every day, “The long working hours causes back pain and strain in eyes as the work requires meticulous attention. I somehow manage to run my family with the paltry income supplemented by vegetables and paddy grown in my agricultural field.”
The potters are not only facing livelihood crisis but the soil erosion has forced them to relocate their houses four to five times in the past four decades, “Even two decades ago, the river was four kilometers away from the village and we were hopeful that it would not come closer soon. But we were wrong. In the past two decades, the distance has got narrowed to just 500 meters of land separating us from the mighty river. We don’t know what will happen to us as we spend sleepless nights dreading about her future,” said Saben Kalita, 28, a local potter.
Villagers said that the administration has been trying to slow down erosion by placing geo-bags and erecting triangular concrete structures called rain-forced cement concrete (Rcc) porcupines along the river banks but the efforts are still not enough to stop the river from moving forward.
“The shoddy and inadequate measures have done nothing to save us from the hungry river which has been consuming our land and livelihood.”
Member of the village
Gopal Hazarika, 62, a retired government official who has relocated his house four times in the past two decades due to erosion sounded dejected about the future, “I have already spent all my resources to build my house each time it has gone into the river but now I am losing courage due to advancing age. I have left my future in God’s hands without thinking what would happen next.”
Senior administrative officials said that the government is serious to save Majuli from getting disappeared, “The government is keen to save the island as it is the pride of our state for being the largest river island in the world. Proper steps are being taken to slow down erosion in order to save the vast stretches of agricultural land and other avenues of livelihood,” said an official requesting anonymity.
But the residents of Majuli have in their minds that it’s just the matter of time when the river will wash out their identity from the global map.
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