AJYCP Demands National Status, Scientific Solution to Assam’s Flood and Erosion Crisis

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva-Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) on Thursday organised a national seminar in New Delhi demanding a scientific, sustainable and permanent solution to Assam’s long-standing problems of floods and riverbank erosion.

The seminar, titled “Sustainable and Permanent Solution to Assam’s Flood and Riverbank Erosion,” was held at the Speakers’ Auditorium of the Constitution Club of India.

Addressing the media after the seminar, AJYCP president Palash Changmai and general secretary Bijon Bayan said floods and riverbank erosion in Assam were no longer merely natural disasters but had emerged as a deep and long-term crisis threatening the state’s social and economic foundations.

They said recurring floods cause loss of lives, submerge large areas of agricultural land, affect livestock and disrupt the livelihoods of thousands of families every year. At the same time, continuous riverbank erosion has resulted in loss of land and settlements, forcing many families to repeatedly relocate.

According to the AJYCP leaders, the absence of national-problem status for Assam’s floods and erosion forces the state government to spend substantial funds every year on reconstruction, relief and compensation. This, they said, diverts resources that could otherwise be used for development and adversely affects Assam’s overall economic progress.

The AJYCP said it has been demanding recognition of Assam’s floods and erosion as a national problem since its inception in 1978, along with far-reaching measures by the Centre for a scientific and technologically sound permanent solution.

The seminar was organised to facilitate an evidence-based and constructive discussion among experts, researchers, environmentalists, geologists and other stakeholders on the complex dimensions of the problem.

The seminar was inaugurated by senior journalist, author and political analyst Rajdeep Sardesai. Resource persons included IIT Guwahati professor and hydrologist Dr Arup Kumar Sharma, noted geologist and Gauhati University professor Dr Bhagawat Pran Duwara, river researcher, author and filmmaker Dr Sanjoy Hazarika, and BBC Asia Pacific editorial lead Sachin Gogoi.

The experts discussed the long-term impact of floods and erosion on Assam’s population, agriculture, economy, environment, infrastructure and land management. They particularly highlighted the plight of families losing agricultural land, homesteads and property due to erosion.

The seminar also emphasised that Assam alone cannot realistically resolve the complex and multi-dimensional problem. The extensive Brahmaputra river system and its tributaries, water flows originating in the Himalayan foothills, interstate and international water-resource issues, changing river courses and the growing impact of climate change require a broader national approach, the organisers said.

The AJYCP argued that short-term measures such as relief and compensation during floods or construction of embankments in phases cannot provide a permanent solution. It called for a comprehensive, scientific and long-term national policy, formulated through coordination between the Centre and the Assam government and based on the recommendations of scientists, experts, water-resource engineers, geologists, environmentalists and researchers.

The organisation further demanded that the Centre recognise Assam’s floods and riverbank erosion as a national problem and launch a dedicated national programme for their permanent resolution.

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