Erosion affects farmers, crops in central Assam

Over 250 families of the Moirabari area in Morigaon district of central Assam have been rendered homeless during the last fortnight due to severe erosion caused by the Brahmaputra, official sources said on Thursday.

According to locals and district officials, heavy rainfall in the past few weeks and swift currents in river have also caused extensive damage to paddy fields and destroyed crops and vegetables in an area of over 1,000 hectare. Even as state water resources minister Rajib Lochan Pegu recently visited the spot along with senior officials of the department erosion continues unabated in absence of any long-term measures.

A kind of anti-erosion measure where concrete pillars are used to hold the soil from falling into the river, were implemented in the affected areas during past one year, but the measure was "unsuccessful", according to official sources. Most of the displaced people have taken shelter in nearby high ground and dykes. The locals have blamed the authorities for failure to provide them any alternative permanent settlement.