Dikhowmukh (Sivasagar), Aug 2: An unusual irony is unfolding in flood-ravaged Sivasagar district this monsoon. Villages in the traditional flood-prone belts of Desangmukh, Dikhowmukh and Rupohimukh - areas that have long borne the brunt of annual floods - have largely escaped inundation this year.
Instead, they are emerging as a source of relief for farmers and families in the district's worst-hit eastern areas that have witnessed an unprecedented deluge.
Residents say western-side villages stretching from Gaurisagar to Rupohimukh along the Bor Ali (road) witnessed little flooding despite heavy rains in the district and adjacent to Nagaland.
"From Gaurisagar to Rupohimukh, alongside the Bor Ali, there was virtually no flooding at all. In Nadisial and Krishnasiga villages, a few houses were affected by waterlogging, but the situation was not severe," said social worker Satyajit Saikia of Rupohimukh.
The contrast is striking. Desangmukh, Dikhowmukh and Rupohimukh lie along the Brahmaputra and at the confluence of tributaries such as the Desang, Dikhow and Rupohi rivers, making them among Sivasagar's most flood-prone regions in the past.
Water level of Dikhow and Desang rivers had surged to their highest ever levels last month.
Villagers, however, argue that the district's flood pattern has shifted because natural drainage channels that once carried runoff from the eastern foothills of Nagaland towards the Brahmaputra have deteriorated over the decades.
"Rupohijan and Borlur channels used to carry water from the eastern side towards the Brahmaputra. Borlur drained into the Mitong river, while Rupohijan flowed directly into the Brahmaputra. Today, many stretches have been encroached upon or are nearly blocked. They have degraded over decades, but no effort has been made to restore them," Saikia said.
With their fields remaining largely unaffected, villagers in Rupohimukh have turned to helping those devastated elsewhere. Local youths have begun establishing kathiatolis (paddy nurseries) over nearly 50 bighas of land to supply seedlings to farmers who lost their crops in the floods. The Jorhat-based Assam Agricultural University and the State agriculture department have provided the seeds.
"Ploughing has already begun. This is the first time a nursery is being raised on such a large scale. Besides that, villagers are sending cattle fodder, baby food, clothes and cooked meals to flood-hit areas," Saikia said.
According to official estimates, nearly 28,000 hectares of agricultural land out of Sivasagar's total 68,000 hectares have been damaged since the latest wave of flooding began on July 19. Around 400 of the 560-plus villages in Sivasagar have been affected in the flood.
Residents attribute the relatively lower flooding in the eastern riverine belt to the lower water level of the Brahmaputra this year and anti-erosion measures undertaken by the government. At the same time, many allege that the newly constructed national highway has altered the district's natural drainage pattern, trapping floodwaters in eastern Sivasagar.
"The Brahmaputra's water level remained low, allowing the Desang river to drain freely into it. Last year, there was much more flooding along the banks. This time there was only a brief surge that lasted a day or two," said Nilambor Sarkar, a resident of Desangmukh.
While the western floodplains remained largely dry, large parts of eastern Sivasagar and neighbouring Demow continued to remain under water for the fourteenth consecutive day on Friday. Thousands of residents are still taking shelter on rooftops, at relatives' homes, lodges and even along roadsides. Several localities in Sivasagar town witnessed flooding for the first time.
Ratul Gogoi, a resident of Betbari in Demow, described the flooding as unprecedented.
"There was a severe flooding in 1988, but even then the water was not knee-deep. This time it rose seven to eight feet within a short period. The newly built raised national highway blocked the flow of water, preventing it from dispersing across the fields. There are only two small culverts in our area, which are far from sufficient to drain floodwater from Betbari," he said.
Although rainfall has eased over the past week, intermittent showers have continued. The Sivasagar Automatic Weather Station recorded 28 mm of rainfall on July 26, no rainfall on July 27 and 28, followed by 3 mm on July 29, 17 mm on July 30 and 11 mm on July 31. Sonari recorded 19 mm of rainfall during the last 24 hours.