COMMUNITY STRENTH TOWARDS DISASTER MITIGATION
Morigaon is multihazards prone district of the middle assam and triggered by several wave of
flood in each year leave the trace of deplorable situation for human being.The three Reveneu
Circle viz Mayong Buragaon and lahorighat is worsely hited by the wave of flood and large
scale soil erosion which lead to destitute of thousand of families.This unique phenomenon of
nature compel the community people to live as home less like migrated refugees in their own
land in the road site.This displaced people once they have all means of livelihood, but by virtue
of this soil erosion, they are now asset less and donot have any means of livelihood and fall
under vicious cycle of poverty.It is projected by the expert in various field of development that
if the intensity of the erosion is continued then the district will face sever food shortage in
near future may lead to great unrest in the society.
Goverment of Assam have taken temporary
measure against the soil erosion in some part of
these reveneu circle which is not sufficient in
nature. Agricultue is the main sourec of livelihood in
the area. The uncontrolled process of erosion wash
away the many acre of cultivated land.They have
got exposure about the various natural hazards
through GOI-UNDP DRM programme which develop
the pool of trained volunters by providing capacity
upgradition training in the community. All the PRI
institution of the Lahorighat development Block
comes together and discused the their problem and
identify their aress of intervention in which output was provided by NUNV- DPO through
trained volunteers and consensus was developed to initiated the activities. They formed
they samittee named Brahmaputra Gorakhohonia Pratirudh Sangram Samittee. This free
laboure, the spirit of Volunteerism show the strenth to face the natural calamity with out
taking external agency assistance.On 3rd December 07 a great participatory movement was
initiated by local panchayat body with the help of other community based organiztion
against the Natural fury at Buragaon Circle covering around 117 village under Lahorighat
Development Block in order to stop the Soil Erosion caused by mighty Bhramaputra.Atleast
300 Volunteers trained under DRM programme of Morigaon which was introduced in the
District in the year 2003 which is the motivating force lead them to undertake such a giant
task in this underdeveloped areas of the District. They were busy to build a dyke of 900meter
in length,,4mts high, and 6.5 mts in wide by sand filled bags.In every day around 300
community people give their free labour from 8 am to 4 pm in a totation basis.In mean time
other volunteers spread away to collected the empty cement bag from various destition who
collected around 1.6 lakh bages in order to completed the work. It is traditional ways to
prevent the soil erosion having greater impact
and cost effective method to give permenant solution of the problem has been highly
appreciated and reconised by modern water resource management specialist.It is one of the
innovative and technology driven method to solve the problem like soil erosion at the
community level.
In 2007 the Morigaon is witness of three
wave of flood, affected 5 lakh people
covering 456 Rev. Village.. This free labour
for disaster mitigation has shown the
efforts of the community people have the
interest to resolve their own problem.This
participatory movement is going on in
phase manner and it is hoped that which
will save million of people from the woe of
flood and could prevent agriculture land
from silting.
In this method the sand filling bag is laid from bank side to current flow zone of the river,
distrupt the current of the water to change direction to the oppsit side where the kerosion is
not taking place, the pic.1 show its laying process in the river beds.
Now people of the community is aware about
their risk and vulnerability as well as their
capacity to cope up of the situation to resolve
their own problem whic can certainly shift
the paradigm in disaster prepardness and
mitigation at the communit which will give
boost up for sustainable develoment in the
areas.