Majuli island (Assam): Half of Assam's Majuli river island has gone under water as the Brahmaputra breached a newly-built embankment.
Nothing changes in Majuli. Monsoon invariably means flood leading to loss of property and displacement of people. This is the second wave of flood this season. And relief is inadequate.
"Sometimes we get a meal. But we are not getting sufficient relief," said a villager.
Eighty per cent of the island depend on cultivation as livelihood. With fields under water they are just about managing to survive.
The river island is fast shrinking due to erosion. And any initiatives at building embankments have so far been ineffective.
"If the government had built the Mathmora embankment properly, we wouldn't have suffered like this," said another villager.
Flood in Majuli is an annual feature. Creating effective embankments is the obvious solution. But monetary stake in the subdivision is very high.
Solving Majuli's woes means shrinking the flow of fund. And that hurts a lot of people. One of the reasons why social worker Sanjoy Ghosh was killed here.