File picture of an eroded portion of the island. Picture by Eastern Projections

Dec. 16: A blessing seems to be at hand for Majuli?s curse of soil erosion. Though modern engineering techniques have not been of much help, the ?wonder grass? is now being touted as the perfect alternative.

The National Mission on Bamboo Applications (NMBA) has hammered out a cheap and effective plan for the largest freshwater island in the world: planting bamboo groves for curbing erosion and stabilising soils.

The nodal agency for the project is the Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI) in Jorhat, which will work in close tandem with community groups on the island.

The project envisages planting three rows of bamboo species of medium diameter, interspersed with fast-growing timber species.

Bamboo spurs will be erected to save the saplings from being eroded.

Bamboo roots are among the strongest binding units known to botany.

Jorhat deputy commissioner J. Shyamala Rao said bamboo plantations could go a long way in solving the problem of erosion in the island, which suffers annual flooding.

An NMBA official said an experimental bamboo plantation covering 25 hectares along a 2-km stretch on the southern fringe of the island would be taken up early next year to ?demonstrate the alternative approach?.

?Plantation activities will begin in March 2005, using materials generated by the RFRI in Jorhat district,? an NMBA official said.

The NMBA was constituted under the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council in the 10th Plan to develop and promote environment friendly, value-added bamboo-based products, practices, technology and processes.

The NMBA official said the activities include demarcation of catchments and erosion-affected areas, the species to be planted and a management plan for setting up plantations.

The activities in Majuli will involve maintenance and tending of plantations and training and capacity building of local communities.

?Community participation is a crucial ingredient in the project as much will depend on the people living in the river island. It will create awareness about bamboo and its value-added uses and build capacities for plantation management and related activities,? Rao said.