Amid COVID-19 pandemic, people of Rongmola village under Chabua revenue circle of eastern Assam’s Dibrugarh district are facing flood and erosion threat.
Every year flood affects the area and large tracts of agriculture land are engulfed in Brahmaputra River.
Rongmola village is just five km away from chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s paternal home Muluk Gaon.
Every year the people are losing their houses and agricultural land due to erosion.
The first wave of flood this year has affected the entire village and the people have to shift themselves to safer place to save their lives.
Also read: Assam: First wave of flood and erosion hit Dibrugarh
Shymal Das, a villager of Rongmola said, “We are living in constant fear because every year our lands are taken away by hungry river.”
“Now, the people are living in relief camp by maintain social distancing. Already, due to COVID-19 we are facing a hard time and battling for our survival,” he added.
“The first wave of flood has again brought miseries for our people. Last year we have lost several acres of land due to the marauding erosion. Our entire village was damaged due to the recent wave of flood,” he also said.
Moreover, 92 families of Rongmola are living in fear and anxiety.
They don’t know what to do because already the people are grappling with COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are not getting any government aid and help. Every year flood ravages our village. After flood and erosion and we have to make the things from zero. We are living a uncertain future with no hope. During election, the politicians used us vote bank and after fulfilling their job they didn’t address our problem,” said Shymal Das.
Tengbari village under Chabua revenue circle has also been facing similar fate.
Every year, the village has been losing huge agriculture land in the erosion.
“We depend on agriculture because most of our people are engaged in agriculture but the first wave of flood has affected our agriculture land,” a villager said.
“We are already battling with coronavirus. We have expected many things from the BJP government but they have not done anything to stop the marauding erosion and as a result we are losing our land,” the villager added.
Every year Assam has been losing valuable land due to flood and erosion.
But the government has failed to solve this perennial problem.
“Despite several pleas, the government is doing nothing to solve the perennial problem of flood and erosion. We are helpless and don’t know what to do because our agriculture was damaged in the flood,” said another villager at Tengbari.