Majuli may submerge under Brahmaputra
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23/05/2008
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Sentinel (Guwahati)
Sources said that the river island of Majuli which lies on the other side faces a threat of being submerged by river waters of the Brahmaputra in case the embankment is breached. "Majuli, which has considerably decreased in size due to large scale erosion faces threat of extinction if flooding and erosion continue unabated,' the source added. "The Centre and State may be pumping crores into various anti-erosion projects in Majuli every year but all these are being literally washed away by the mighty Brahmaputra,' the source said. Sources stated that various organizations including AASU, AJYCP, the Majuli Surakshya Aikya Manch and others have raised voices and agitated for Majuli's protection but nothing concrete come up till date. Unless permanent erosion protection measures are put into place Majuli will slowly but slowly be wiped off the face of the map,' the source stated. Majuli which is vying for Unesco's World Heritage Site status due to its historical importance, culture heritage and ecology is now mainly in the news for all the wrong reasons. So vast is the scale of erosion that out of the 66 xatras (Neo-Vaishnavite monasteries) established on the island, only 21 exist, the others either perishing or having to relocate to the mainland. At present heavy erosion at Jengraimukh threatens the existence of the Bhogpur and Bengenuati xatras which do not have any land to relocate to and are on the verge of extinction. Every year thousands of people lose their homes, land and property due to floods and erosion and have to take shelter on the raised embankment or sides of PWD roads. Agitations against the "shoddy' work of the Brahmaputra Board entrusted with erosion protection works on the island, have become an annual affair and this time the Monastic heads