Erosion crisis mounts in Dibrugarh’s Tingkhong, 150 families at risk
Burhi Dihing’s rising waters threaten to breach embankment, deepening crisis for 150 flood-hit families
Burhi Dihing steadily eroding vast amount of land in Assam’s Tingkhong. (AT Photo)
Dibrugarh, Aug 6: As several districts of Assam face a crippling dry spell and looming drought, residents of Tingkhong in Dibrugarh district are battling the opposite — unrelenting floods and severe soil erosion.
For over 150 families living along the banks of the Burhi Dihing River, the monsoon season brings with it not just floodwaters, but also the steady disappearance of land. Locals say the river has already devoured hundreds of bighas of farmland this year.
“Since the Jeth (May-June) floods, we’ve been struggling. The river swells every day and eats up more land. We lose a few acres daily,” said a local elder, speaking to The Assam Tribune on Wednesday.
With agriculture being the main source of livelihood, the loss of cultivable land has pushed many families to the brink.
“We have nothing left. No land to farm on, and mouths to feed — our children, our parents. How are we to survive?” another resident asked, visibly distraught.
Adding to their anxiety is the fear of a breach in the embankment that lines the Burhi Dihing.
“If it breaks, it will be a disaster. Everything will be washed away — our homes, our lives,” a villager warned.
While government officials have visited the area — often armed with drones and survey tools — the promised interventions to tackle erosion remain elusive.
“They come, take pictures, talk to us, and say the erosion will be fixed in a month. But nothing ever happens. We are still waiting,” said a resident.
The villagers are now making an urgent appeal to the government.
“Please help us. We need action, not surveys. We have no land left to stand on,” a resident pleaded.
In Assam, floods and erosion often go hand in hand — as floodwaters recede, they leave behind weakened embankments and loose soil, which the Brahmaputra steadily devours.
According to reports, riverbank erosion has plagued the state for over six decades.
Since 1950, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries have eroded more than 4.27 lakh hectares — about 7.4% of Assam’s total land area. On average, the state loses nearly 8,000 hectares of land every year.