Assam Villagers Pray as Brahmaputra Erosion Worsens in Dibrugarh

Guwahati: The Brahmaputra is eating the banks again. Residents of Mohanaghat Tingkhong Bhanga Ali in Assam’s Dibrugarh district gathered along the riverbank Tuesday morning to beg for mercy. Hundreds of people joined a special river worship ceremony following a sharp spike in erosion that began about a week ago.

Locals performed Vedic rituals and held a Naam-Kirtan. They brought offerings of maah-prasad, betel leaves, and areca nuts to the water. The group floated a symbolic banana-stem raft on the river to pray for the safety of families and relief from the constant threat. One resident noted, "The Brahmaputra has been eroding the Mohanaghat Tingkhong Bhanga Ali area for nearly five decades."

The toll is heavy. Hundreds of bighas of fertile soil have vanished into the current over the last fifty years. Many families lost their homes and ancestral land, forcing them to start their lives over from scratch. The Water Resources Department currently manages erosion-control projects in the district. Despite this, the latest wave of destruction has left villagers terrified for their remaining property.