Picture by Vinod Kumar Singh
Dhemaji: Thousands of passengers are ferried everyday from Pasighat, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur on the north bank to Dibrugarh on the south bank for work, medical purposes and education, but decrease in water level and increased turbidity of the river is posing a challenge for boatmen as their livelihood depends on it.
The Inland Water Transport department, which provides services at different places in East Siang of Arunachal Pradesh and Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Majuli of Upper Assam in nearly 28 destinations, is also under threat because of rise in turbidity of the Siang and Brahmaputra.
The rapid increase in turbidity has made navigation difficult, boatman Monu Pait said at Kareng ghat, from where passengers from Dhemaji district are ferried to Dibrugarh. He said every now and then they have to ferry patients by night.
This is very risky now because they are unsure where their boat could get stuck. Even during the day, they often need to get down in the water to clear the sediment.
Jamuna Mallah, a boat worker, said, "I have been serving on the boat for the last 30 years but I have never faced any skin disease. But now after coming in contact with the muddy water, I am facing problems. We live and work on the river and use the water for everything. Now we are unable to do so."
A team from the North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF), led by Guwahati-based environmentalist Keshab Krishna, visited Siang and Brahmaputra and collected silt samples from different places in Pasighat, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur.
When contacted, one of the team members said they found a nearly 10-inch thick sediment layer accumulated on the riverbed which is extremely harmful to freshwater fishes, aquatic animals, and even humans.
The silt sample will be analysed at the IIT Guwahati and Gauhati University laboratories to ascertain the constituents.
Tularam Gogoi, an advocate of Gauhati High Court, who is also the adviser of NEDF, said the matter would be raised with the Centre and the Chinese embassy, if required, once the reason behind the turbidity is ascertained.
