Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Only some time ago, during the monsoon season, the water level in the entire stretch of the Brahmaputra river, from Dibrugarh to Dhubri, was above the danger mark. The floods caused by the Brahmaputra left many in misery. But today, the river is not navigable from Majuli to Jorhat, with the water level going down all of a sudden within just a few days. Due to this, ferry services from Kamalabari Ghat of Majuli to Neamatighat of Jorhat have been suspended from Sunday.
Majuli being a river island, the only means of connectivity to Jorhat is by ferry. People of Majuli are bound to travel to Jorhat for various reasons, from educational and employment purposes to marketing and medical necessity. Tourists travelling to the unique island, famous for its xatras and Raax festival, among others, also use this means of transport.
There are two ferry ghats in Majuli, Kamalabari and Aphalamukh ghats, from which ferry services operate to Neamatighat in Jorhat. Although it is a river island, Majuli is quite large in terms of land area. That is why two ghats on opposite sides of the island are needed. The water level at Kamalabari decreased unusually fast in just a few days. Inland Water Transport (IWT) employees at Kamalabari tried to operate a single boat from the ghat, but the effort failed due to a lack of the necessary depth of water in the Brahmaputra. There was just one to two feet of water in the river that is known for its depth and unpredictable water currents. The IWT said it was not feasible to operate even a single mechanised boat from Majuli to Jorhat, leading to the suspension of the ferry service from Kamalabari to Neamatighat. However, such boats were in service from Aphalamukh ghat.
This being the tourist season, the sudden suspension of ferry services has put the people of Majuli in jeopardy. Many are dependent on tourism to sustain their families. One river ghat alone cannot cope with the pressure of local people as well as tourists using the boat service, as the capacity of mechanised boats is limited.
November is the month for the famous Raax festival of the river island, and people from within the state and outside, including foreign tourists, usually throng the venues in large numbers. If the ferry service is suspended for long, the number of visitors to the festival will go down considerably. Although there is means of road connectivity from Lakhimpur on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, the number of people travelling from that side is limited.
Local people demanded that the water channel for operating the ferry service in the dry (winter) season should be maintained at enough depth through scientific methods like dredging, etc. by the state and central governments. They pointed out that the river does not dry up this fast, and the water level at present is generally seen only towards the end of November or early in December.
According to a Central Water Commission report, the water level in the Brahmaputra river at Neamatighat, Guwhati, Goalpara, and Dhubri is showing a falling trend.
Also read: Assam: Ferry services between north and south banks of Brahmaputra suspended in Guwahati
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