Riverine Villages of Assam’s Lohit-Khabalu Struggle for Basic Connectivity

North Lakhimpur: The riverine villages of Lohit-Khabalu, once known for their fine dairy products and rich fishing traditions, are today trapped in isolation and hardship. Home to over 30,000 residents mostly from the Mising community,the area lies separated from the mainland by the Lohit and Subansiri streams of the Brahmaputra, leaving villagers to battle severe communication bottlenecks.

Despite being transferred from Lakhimpur district to Majuli in 2021 to improve access to healthcare and administrative services, the region’s condition remains dire. The 27 villages under Lohit Khabalu Gaon Panchayat, covering around 70 square kilometres, depend on just three fragile wooden bridges,Kharjanpar-Naragaon and two Garamur-Patharichuk bridges for movement of people and goods.

However, the bridges’ dilapidated state, coupled with muddy, unmotorable roads, makes even short journeys treacherous. During monsoons, floods render these routes impassable, forcing villagers to cross the rivers in makeshift boats, risking their lives to reach hospitals or schools.

Tragic incidents are all too common. Many patients have died mid-journey while being ferried to hospitals, and women have given birth under open skies en route. In one such instance, a 70-year-old retired headmaster, Sashidhar Payeng, died of a stroke in 2018 while being taken to Garamur Hospital by boat. His son, a college lecturer, met a similar fate months earlier.

The community’s traditional livelihoods of fishing and farming have also been hit hard by riverbank erosion, siltation, and changing river patterns, leading many young people to migrate to urban centres in search of work.

Villagers continue to rely on bamboo stretchers, hand-pulled carts, and bicycles to transport patients to the Sri Sri Pitambar Dev Goswami State Hospital, just 4 km away but the journey often takes hours through mud, water, and uncertainty.

Despite administrative changes and promises of improved access, Lohit-Khabalu’s plight remains unchanged, standing as a stark reminder of how geography and neglect continue to separate thousands from basic rights like healthcare and mobility.

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