Assam: Brahmaputra Erosion Swallows 330 Villages in a Decade, Displaces 23,000 Families

Erosion by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries affected hundreds of villages with 23,369 families from 2016 to 2026.

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: It is unbelievable but true that as many as 330 villages have almost been wiped out by river erosion in the state over the past decade. In fact, 100 villages no longer exist in the state's map, as they have been completely swallowed up by riverwaters.

These statistics reveal the severity of the erosion problem in Assam. Since 1950, the scale of devastation by floods and erosion has increased manifold. Interestingly, every political party promises to deal with the twin problems before each election. All major parties, including the Congress, AGP and BJP, have ruled in the state at different times, but the issue remained confined to the poll manifestos of the political parties. The flood and erosion problem continues to plague the people of the state.

Sources affirmed that not only have hundreds of villages been affected due to erosion by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries but also 23,369 families in the period from 2016 to 2026. Of the families hit by erosion, 17,730 have been displaced after losing their land to the vagaries of erosion.

The Dhubri district has the highest number of families affected by erosion, with 5,241 families out of the total 23,369 families impacted.

It is also on record that the width of the Brahmaputra River has increased by several degrees in the past 15 years at several spots, including Dhubri. The largest widening of the Brahmaputra is witnessed in Dhubri, where it has gone from 8.44 km in 2011 `to 13.08 km in 2025-26. This is an increase of an unbelievable 4.64 km in the river's width. One of the main reasons for this tremendous widening of the Red River is erosion of its banks. 

Other than Dhubri, the number of families affected by erosion in different districts over the past decade: Barpeta 3,291, Biswanath 274, Bongaigaon 1,463, Chirang 123, Dhemaji 846, Dibrugarh 577, Goalpara 897, Golaghat 298, Hojai 59, Jorhat 3, Lakhimpur 464, Majuli 453, Morigaon 3,577, Nagaon 1,605, Sivasagar 93, Sonitpur 125, South Salmara-Mankachar 3,841, Tamulpur 17, and Tinsukia 149. These figures reveal that the menace of erosion is more pronounced in the Middle and Lower Assam districts.

Moreover, Majuli is one of the districts worst-hit by erosion, as the mighty Brahmaputra has eroded away a large portion of the river island, and 453 families here have lost their lands. Majuli is known to be the largest river island and is famous as the seat of Neo-Vaishnavism and for its pristine atmosphere.

Erosion has ravaged the lands of Assam over time, and it's now up to the central and state governments to work out a permanent solution to this threat, with the help of science and the latest technology. Otherwise, villages will continue to be wiped out from the state's map.

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