Manmohan to visit Assam next week, to fly low over Majuli to assess flood damage

Guwahati, August 22: Although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will once again miss a much-awaited visit to Majuli — the world’s largest inhabited river island — on the Brahmaputra when he arrives in his adopted home state on Tuesday, he will definitely fly low over the island in order to take a close look at the havoc that the river has been wrecking on it.

“I have always wanted the Prime Minister to make a trip to Majuli. But even though he is visiting Jorhat next week, it will not be possible to land on the island because of the floods. But I have ensured that the chopper will fly as low as possible over Majuli before landing at Jorhat so that he can take a close look,” Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told The Indian Express here on Friday.

Singh, during his two-day trip will first land at Dibrugarh, and then take a helicopter to Jorhat where he will lay the foundation stone of one of the three new medical colleges that the Gogoi Government has announced. Later, he will visit Nagaon in central Assam to address a public meeting. On Wednesday, Singh will the foundation stone of a new university at Kokrajhar and then head to Guwahati to attend a function at the IIT there.

In Jorhat, the state Water Resource Department will make a detailed presentation to the Prime Minister on the flood and erosion problem at Majuli, while a delegation of satradhikars (abbots) of the Vaishnavite satras (monasteries) of the island will also hold a discussion on how to save Majuli — 42 of the 64 satras here to shift elsewhere due to the flooding situation.

Currently, nearly one-third of the river island has been reeling under floods, while the turbulent waters claimed the lives of at least five persons over the past few days. The area of Majuli has shrunk from 1,256 sq km in 1950 to 514 sq km in 1990. With the rate of erosion estimated at 7.4 sq km per annum, Majuli’s total area today would be not more than 480 sq km.

Incidentally, Majuli is also struggling to find a place in the World Heritage Site list of UNESCO for more than a decade now. It was only in June this year that the island once again missed getting the prestigious tag, with the Government of India vowing to make another attempt next year.

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