Creating awareness about Majuli ‘There is an urgent need for coordination between the State’s bureaucrats and the technocrats in solving the erosion problem in Majuli’ By our Staff Reporter GUWAHATI, July 8: An international conference on Majuli was held on Sunday at the city’s Bishnu Nirmala Bhavan. The objective of the conference was to create awareness about Majuli among the masses as well as to help the concerned authorities in the World Heritage-related works. Among several prominent speakers, Sanjib Kumar Borkakoty, president, Society for Srimanta Sankardeva; Dr Aravind Phukan, retired professor, University of Alaska; Narayan Chandra Goswami, xatradhikar, Nutan Kamalabari Xatra; Natwar Thakker, a Gandhian; and GSV Suryanarayana Murthy took part in the conference. Most of these speakers stressed the need for protection of the river island from the scourge of the mighty Brahmaputra and urged the State Government to speed up the process of inclusion of Majuli in the World Heritage Sites’ list. Majuli is the cradle of Assamese Vaishnavism, and a cultural and spiritual centre of Assam. There are more than 20 neo-Vaishnavite xatras located in Majuli. The island is also a bio-diversity hotspot with rich ecology. Recently, the Indian Government has proposed to nominate the name of Majuli for inclusion in the ‘cultural landscape’ category of the UNESCO World Heritage list. Addressing the gathering, Dr Aravind Phukan said that the flood and erosion problem in Majuli could be solved through high-technology but expressed his dissatisfaction on the work carried out by the Brahmaputra Board for the protection of the river island. “We can solve the flood problem in Majuli by digging the Brahmaputra’s riverbed. About 50 per cent of Majuli’s land has been lost due to massive erosion,” said Phukan, adding, “There is an urgent need for coordination between the State’s bureaucrats and the technocrats in solving the erosion problem in Majuli.” Dr Phukan further stated that the embankments constructed in Majuli were not designed properly and of very poor quality.
Other speakers like Narayan Chandra Goswami highlighted the importance of Majuli for the people of Assam. “Majuli is a centre of Assamese culture and religion. There is an urgent need to protect the river island from the fury of the Brahmaputra,” said Goswami. The international conference was initiated by the Society for Srimanta Sankardeva and organized in collaboration with Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS) International and ASA Foundation, USA. (The Sentinel, 09.07.2012 ) Call for review of embankment policy (The Assam Tribune ,09.07.2012) http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jul0912%2Fat06 Land ahoy for sinking Majuli (The Telegraph, 09.07.2012) http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120709/jsp/frontpage/story_15706796.jsp Heritage tag: Majuli not first priority for Centre (Seven Sisters Post,09.07.2012) http://sevensisterspost.com/?p=23288 Amar Asom (09.07.2012) http://amarasom.glpublications.in/Details.aspx?id=9831&boxid=111335187 _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
