Flood in Assam is a Global Phenomenon

Flood in Assam is a Global Phenomenon

........On the occasion of World Environment Day 2020 a Commentary on the situation of flood in Assam. Assam Flood is not a local problem but global disaster. 

By: Mahmudul Hasan Laskar

Globalization has encompassed environment too in its process of making world an interconnected system. Present world has been suffering from various environmental changes and disasters. Climate change is the most serious global issue upon which many international conventions held and framed policy regulations for countries. Here, just an experience is discussed to regenerate the consciousness regarding life in the natural environment. The elderly village folks in Assam shares the past condition (1980s and before) that rain and flood was useful and functional for the agriculture, fishing and for other livelihood sources. But in present time, heavy rain often leads to disastrous flood that submerges the vegetation, houses, roads and many places. Excessive rain also causes landslide in the hilly terrain in North East India. Rain even creates water logging in villages and flash flood in many cities and town of India and Assam.

Flood in Assam has become a regular phenomenon that ravages the agricultural crops, forests, wildlife, houses and many more. It is matter of fact that disastrous flood is not a local issue but a global phenomenon. The river Brahmaputra is originated from Kailash ranges of Himalaya that entered in India through Arunachal Pradesh and then passed to Assam. Melting of glacier in the Himalayan ranges due to global warming is one of the main reasons behind flood in Brahmaputra that submerges the valleys. Apart from this, large scale deforestation by commercialization of forests, mining, infrastructural development, damming of river Brahmaputra and tributaries is the serious source of frequent flood situation. Another reason is flexibility of monsoon season and high volume of rain in a shorter period. Monsoon usually starts from end of June and continued till Sep but now heavy rain starts from even March and continued till Oct or Nov. Rain does not occur in regular interval, sometimes very heavy rain fall with storms and cyclone and sometimes heavy rain for consecutive days. This irregular rainfall results damage of crops, forests, human settlement etc. This flexible monsoon in Assam is due to the global warming and climate change in the global level. Majuli is one of the worst flood affected place of Assam. Flood has become a part of life for the people in Majuli. Institutional flood relief mechanism and flood control mechanisms in Assam are not enough to deal with a global phenomenon called flood. Calculation of damages merely by statistical method is insufficient and ignorance of real sufferings and sacrifice of a society. We have to take into consideration the culture, traditions, history with geographical land and other societal factors. Mere economic calculation of damage by flood is actually superficial repairing strategy. Thus as a sociology scholar, it is my ardent interest to understand the flood situation in Assam as global phenomenon opposite to narrative that trying to find its source and solution in the local level. Dredging of Brahmaputra and Barak rivers is just a repairing model that cannot bring solution because sedimentation and landslide has very unwanted sources. Dredging is not permanent solution of flood in Assam.  

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Article is written by M Hasan Laskar, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Sociology, University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya. He is author of the books and founder of You Tube channel “Sociology for Life”. He is also the editor of this Blog “Sociological Study”.

 It is the writer’s own view point developed from his research in Environmental Sociology.

 

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