INCURSIONS IN THE BRAHMAPUTRA VALLEY
2
2 Although originating in a glacier lake in the Greater Himalayas, almost 1000 km of the Brahmaputra lies in the Assam Valley between the Himalayas, The Karbi Anglong Hills and the Naga Hills. It is about 80 to 100 kms wide. However, over several centuries due to it’s meandering nature, the river has traveled all over valley and annually expands with the monsoon. This makes defining its boundaries impossible. This project thus considers the current monsoon extent of the river and attempts to highlight all the valley has always been the river’s dominion and that it’s increasingly frequent expansion into our lives is the result of man’s intrusion.
INDIA
4 3 1
0 Every year the river expands with the rains displacing and drowning animals in the hundreds and people in lakhs. These high numbers have increased exponentially.
2016
2017
2018
PEOPLE AFFECTED
PEOPLE AFFECTED
PEOPLE AFFECTED
18 LAKH 300 +
ANIMALS DROWNED
4 LAKH
100KM
8
4
4.5 LAKH
5
360 +
ANIMALS DROWNED
2019
2020
PEOPLE AFFECTED
PEOPLE AFFECTED
52.6 LAKH 140 +
50KM
ANIMALS DROWNED
50 LAKH 129 +
ANIMALS DROWNED KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK
The following are just 5 of the many human activities that has resulted in the increased death and destruction at the river’s edge. With a small window into Kaziranga National Park where the river expands into almost 95% of the park.
FARMLAND KARBI ANGLONG HILLS
UNREGULATED MINING
DAMS/ HYDRO-POWER PLANT
Unregulated mining results in the of the river bank and that prevent the river from entering settlements and forests. It loosens the soil and affects the ecosystem that thrives on it.
The Himalayan region is not stranger to . Building dams could result in and that the river brings from the Himalayas. It would also endanger many that live in the valleys.
1. Kharkhari River 2. Southern Boundary of Kaziranga National Park (more than 60 illegal quarries) 3. Kamalabari 4. Karbi Anglong Hilly Areas 5. Bilapather 6. Dibrugarh district 7. Sonaikuchi 8. Golaghat district 9. Nagaon district
1. Ranjit River
AGRICULTURAL LAND Farmlands and plantations often, besides , The islands would’ve otherwise sustained a small ecosystem that would be resilient to river’s expansion.
HIGHWAYS AND ROADS
ARTIFICIAL HIGHLANDS
The National Highway 37 that runs between the Kaziranga National Park and the Karbi Anglong hills where the animals retreat to during the monsoon to escape the river. This results in several and an in the park’s animals.
Highlands called “ ” have been created within the park to provide refuge to the animals during the monsoon. This greatly during the dry seasons, and
PROTECTED AREA / NATIONAL PARK
Rangit Hydroelectric Power Project Stage III
(schematic sketch not to scale)
EXTENT OF THE RIVER
2. Dibang River
Etalin Project and Dibang Multipurpose Dam (Planned)
3. Ranganadi River
Ranganadi Hydro Electric Project
4.Subansiri River
Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project
Besides these, Central Electricity Authority projections (2001) identified in the Northeast.
- Bhuvan, Open Street Maps, ASTER DEM, Google Earth - https://indiariversforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/irw2020_eastindiasandminingoverview_draftreport.pdf - http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol18-issue3/E01833648.pdf - https://waterconflictforum.org/lib_docs/dammingnortheastIndiasinglepageformat.pdf - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dams_on_the_Brahmaputra_River https://thelogicalindian.com/news/assam-flood-results-havoc/
- https://www.deccanherald.com/national/east-and-northeast/12-rhinos-among-151-animals-killed-in-kaziranga-due-to-floods-869517.htmla - https://www.anandabazar.com/west-bengal/local-tmc-leader-allegedly-collecting-money-in-the-name-of-dm-and-sp-in-midnapore-1.1179610
- https://i.imgur.com/jYvBT2m.jpg - https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/buddhist-monks-oppose-fresh-push-for-power-plants-in-arunachal/81201374 - https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/rhino-strays-from-kaziranga-national-park-after-floods-cause-widespread-devastation20 200718175702/ - https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/assam-floods-how-2400-rhinos-in-kaziranga-are-fleeing-for-their-lives/