Mahanta da/Manoj da
Bihur ulog jonalu. 
Manoj da apunaar bihuwa photo khon sai bhaal lagil.

I have got two small queries regarding Majuli. May be
both of you and other informed netters can throw some
light on this. 

The first one-is Majuli really the biggest river
island in the world?
A quick search of Internet will reveal that many river
islands of Amazon in Brazil are much larger than
Majuli. The Amazon is the widest river in the world.
Many kilometres from its mouth it can be as wide as 11
kilometres, and 40 kilometres in the wet season; at
the place where it meets the Atlantic, it is as much
as 325 kilometres wide. The world's largest river
island is Ilha do Bananal, a 20,000 sq km island
formed by two channels of the Araguaia River in
Tocantins State, Brazil. Majuli is only 880 sq km.
Ilha de Marajo, a 40,100 sq km island in Para, Brazil,
is another big river island. This island is as large
as Switzerland. As per information available in net,
Majuli is not even largest inhabited river island in
the world. There are larger river islands in Amazon
with people living in them. 
Can we get some feedback from geographers or other
informed people on this?

My second query is a bit more technical. Is Majuli
really a river island? It is not exactly a landmass in
the middle of Brahmaputra with the river flowing wide
on both the sides. Northern side of Majuli is the
Kherkotia Xuti. Those of us who have seen this Xuti
know that it is a small diminutive rivulet. And, I
remember seeing it in a place in Dhakuakhana, where it
was totally blocked and Majuli was well connected with
the landmass of Dhakuakhana subdivision. What I mean
to say is that the Xuti does not at all look like
Brahmaputra. Interestingly this Kherkotia Xuti is so
small that Google earth does not even show it. May be
those of us having access to google earth can again
have a look to see if Majuli as a distinct island mass
is discernible or not. By the way, the definition of
Xuti as I remember reading in geography is a stream,
which originates from a river to terminate in the same
river. A famous Xuti of Assam is the Kolong Xuti,
coming out of Brahmaputra at Nowgaon to join
Brahmaputra again at Kajoli near Chandrapur in
Guwahati.
By that logic, Morigaon and parts of Nowgaon should be
considered a river island-considerably bigger than
Majuli.
Hope we can get some insight on this.
Regards

Chittaranjan Pathak

PS
Though I addressed the mail to Mahanta da and Manoj
da, I would appreciate comments from all the learned
members on this. May be an initial response from
Mahantada will help in opening floodgate of responses.
Generally, it is seen a chain visited by cm propagates
longest.
Lastly, please don't brand me as a wannabe myth buster
or a rumour monger (at this crucial time when Majuli's
bid for UNESCO tag repeatedly gets turned down).
Majuli is a unique eco-system and a heritage site
which all of us are proud of. All I am doing is a
reality check on the "river island" bit. With your
input, my doubts may prove to be unfounded.



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