Majuli’s priorities

The Railway Board will soon take a final decision on execution of a project providing a railway link to Majuli after going through reports of some surveys currently going on. The on-going survey is being carried to provide a raily link from Jorhat on the south bank to Gogamukh on the north, with Kamalabari and Garamur becoming the epicentres in the heritage island. It is a 100-km route, the survey for which was sanctioned in the Union budget of 2017-18, which was followed by a survey of a second proposed 38-km line connecting Harmuti with Majuli through Bihpuria, which was sanctioned in 2017. What however is currently required on a prioriy basis for the heritage island is a proper waterways connectivity, given the fact that the existing ferry connectivity of Majuli with Nimatighat is still in a very primitive stage. Though the present BJP-led government must be congratulated for introducing a Ro-Ro service between Kamalabari and Nimatighat, it is still inadequate, especially in view of increasing number of commuters between the island and the mainland in the past few years. More and more young people of Majuli today travel to Jorhat, Sivasagar and other towns for attending educational institutions as well as offices. Likewise, the number of people visiting Majuli on a daily basis has also gone up in the past few years. The number of tourists and pilgrims is also on the rise to Majuli. The government should consider introduction of a separate deluxe ferry vessel for tourists, which can have better facilities which tourists will definitely be willing to pay. This will also create more space for the daily commuters on the regular ferry vessels. Similarly, the government should also consider providing a helicopter service connecting Majuli with Guwahati, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Kaziranga and Tezpur, so that tourists who can afford to pay more can use it. Tourism being the mainstay of Majlui’s economy, it is very important for the government to examine how to increase the livelihood possibilities of the island-dwellers that are related to tourism. Right now Majuli does not offer much which tourists can buy and carry home as souvenirs. Yet, the fact remains that most of the bhakats attached to the different Xatra institutions are very good at handicrafts of various kinds. Right now, only the mask-makers of a few select xatras of Majuli are offering tourists attractive souvenirs. Another aspect that the government should urgently look into is making Majuli totally polythene-free, so that it becomes an example of environment protection. The island anyway is organic by default.