CHAR STABILISATION IN ASSAM – A SIGNIFICANT INTERVENTION FUNDED BY ECHO/DCA

One of the peculiar features of the Brahmaputra river in Assam are the Chars (riverine silt islands). Chars develop over a period of 10-20 years in the channels of the Brahmaputra River as a natural process. Over a period of time these can eventually become habitable and go under occupation (some chars are upto 40 years old). Once some of the channels get silted the river changes it course and starts eroding old chars thus entailing displacement of the inhabitants and loss of livelihoods.

In realization of the urgent need for Char Stabilization in some of the char villages in Assam, CASA, after internal discussions and dialogue with the affected communities, initiated char stabilization work under the ECHO/DCA funded flood rehabilitation programme in Barpeta district of Assam.  The objective was to protect the habitated chars from erosion with cost effective measures by adopting local knowledge and encouraging people’s involvement in the whole process. Government models for erosion control were studied, but the people rejected these models due to their technical sophistication, high cost, very limited scope for community involvement and also limited scope for local level replication.

In consultation with a technical expert, CASA adopted the strategy to develop a people’s model of Char Stabilization using a combination of A-Type bamboo spur, bamboo tripod and sand bags which was further strengthened through plantation of deep rooted local varieties of trees along the banks of the river. This was a technically feasible model developed from a traditional design and could be easily replicated with locally available resources and little involvement of technocrats. These structures help in diverting water current, reducing the speed of undercurrent and also helps in inducing sand deposition. These models were implemented on three char islands in Barpeta district and are proving to be successful in controlling erosion. There was a high level of community involvement and ownership in the char stabilization intervention, which was extremely heartening and remarkable.