SIVASAGAR, Feb 6 � Unabated erosion caused by the Dikhow, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, is posing a serious threat to the existence of Hanhsora Manipuri Gaon in Sivasagar district. The erosion during the rainy season has been continuing for the last 15 years.
The situation is very critical and it is feared that the entire area, inhabited by Manipuri people who came during Ahom era with Queen Kuranga Nayani, wife of Swargadeo Rajeswar Singha, will be washed away by the Dikhow in the coming years if effective measures are not initiated early.
Just six km from Sivasagar town on the Sivasagar-Sonari road, the area is inhabited by over 600 people. Due to change in the river course in the area, a playground, a primary school and a huge tract of cultivable land have been submerged in the river during the last decade.
The course of Dikhow, which was almost 300 metres from the embankment a decade back, is now only 10 feet away. Three houses and a namghar have been submerged in the river during the last three years. Even the important BG Road linking Sivasagar town with Nazira and Sonari, is just 25 metres away from the river course.
Officials of the water resource department said the area is affected by a constant breach of the soil during the rainy season. The soft soil of the area is unable to bear the water current of the river during the rainy season.
Except for taking some temporary measures, the water resources department has so far failed to take any concrete steps to control erosion in the area.
