‘Climate change could lead to more cloudbursts in Garo Hills’

Guwahati: Jamini Baishya is yet to come to terms with the harrowing time she and her family faced when all of a sudden water rushed down the Garo Hills into her village at Dilinga in Boko, Kamrup district, on Monday.
She, along with her two children, other family members and neighbours, huddled in the loft of their house for 24 hours, praying for the water to recede.Boko town is about 5 km from her place of stay.
College teacher Jamini recounted a similar experience. “Water rushed down so fast that we were taken unawares. We have a concrete house and the tallest in the neighbourhood, yet the water level rose rapidly and, in minutes, touched the top edge of the door. We took shelter in the loft with my husband and mother-in-law. There was only water around us,” she said.
On Thursday, when the water receded, villagers---living along the Assam-Meghalaya border--- saw a trail of devastation. The survivors are now grappling with the tragedy of losing their near and dear ones and property.
The worst-affected areas have been Kamrup district’s Boko, Chaygaon, Palashbari and Goroimari areas, as also Lakhipur, Matia, Dhudhnoi, Balijana and Rongjuli areas in Goalpara district. Dhubri district’s Hatsigimari area has also suffered extensive damages. These areas along the inter-state border had experienced a similar tragedy a decade back which was also triggered by cloudbursts in the Garo hills.
Climate experts pin the recurrence of cloudbursts in the Garo hills to its geographical location. The head of the WATCH programme of Aaranyak, Partha J Das, explained that moisture-laden winds from the Bay of Bengal hit the Garo hills resulting in frequent cloudbursts. Das added that the impact of climate change would make the cloudbursts more devastating in the future.
“What happened in the Garo Hills and Assam is a repetition of what had happened in 2004. Many people had lost their lives, especially in Goalpara, in 2004. But have we learnt any lesson from the disaster of 2004?” wondered Das.