Extreme Weather Ravages Assam’s Riverine Communities, Survey Reveals

Written by: Rohin Kumar, Ruhit Mech and Nilabh Nayan Handique

A new survey by the Palakiya Foundation and Team Zibon, covering over 100 households in the Kaibarta and Mising communities of Bhakatsapori and Rajankhat in Golaghat district, reveals mounting economic losses and growing livelihood struggles due to erratic and extreme weather. The study finds that families suffer average annual losses of Rs 20,000–Rs 40,000 due to climate-induced disasters such as floods, prolonged droughts, and increased human–wildlife conflict.

The study drew on in-depth focus group discussions (FGDs) at two sites: Bhakatsapori, a Mising-dominated village of about 200 households and 800 people, and Rajankhat, home to 150 Kaibarta families dependent on fishing and wetlands. These sessions uncovered firsthand accounts of how climate shifts are undermining core livelihoods—farming, fisheries, and animal husbandry—while endangering cultural practices and social ties.

Shifting weather patterns are disrupting the Brahmaputra

Residents in both villages report stark changes over the past couple of decades. In Bhakatsapori, floods once arrived predictably in August–September, depositing nutrient-rich silt for crops. Now, they strike late, last only a few days, or surge suddenly due to dam releases such as those from the Subansiri, shortening “good” floods by 15–25 days. Irregular rainfall brings dry spells during sowing, followed by destructive downpours. Storms with hail and strong winds ravage crops two to three times a year, while foggier winters delay grain drying and hotter summers shrink the river, curbing fish entry into fields.

Rajankhat’s 150 Kaibarta households, home to about 600 people, face the opposite challenge: prolonged dryness. Normal floods that once replenished their community’s Beel wetland and ponds no longer arrive, leading to stagnant waters, algal blooms, and fish die-offs. Short, intense rains fail to restore ecosystems, and October–November droughts evaporate water bodies. Higher summer temperatures damage fish habitats, while upstream dams exacerbate what residents describe as “man-made” disruptions. Both communities suggest that the impacts of extreme weather are increasing Brahmaputra inflows by 15–20%.

Agriculture under siege

Farming, the backbone of Mising life in Bhakatsapori, revolves around flood-resilient ahu rice grown on raised bunds, mustard (lai aam), black gram, and livestock. Traditional tools like dao machetes and doka winnowing baskets, paired with community labour exchanges (moba), once ensured self-reliance. Stilt houses (chang ghars) and floating paddy rafts (ollung) are adapted to annual floods. But today, mismatched crop cycles bring repeated disasters: storms flatten harvests, sudden floods erode nearly 8,000 hectares of char land annually, and elephant raids—up 20% after floods—compound losses. Livestock drown or fall ill in waterlogged fields, slashing incomes by 20–30% and forcing families into debt.

In Rajankhat, Kaibartas supplement fishing with wetland rice, mustard, and vegetables grown on silt-enriched plots. Dryness cracks fields, halts irrigation, and prevents silt deposition, pushing families toward rice-only farming with plummeting yields. Without floodwaters, mustard cultivation fails. Agriculture, once a support system, now contributes far less, heightening reliance on failing fisheries and distant markets.

Impact on fisheries

For Kaibartas—“those who earn from water”—fishing is sacred. Bamboo jakhei traps, kosh drag nets, and handcrafted dinghi canoes are used to harvest 40–45 species sustainably. Rituals such as Bheldia Jol Puja invoke water spirits through net-casting dances, while Marei Puja honours serpent guardians. Yet the absence of floods has stagnated the Beel, increasing fish diseases and sharply reducing spawning. Catches have declined drastically; women, central to net-mending and harvesting, report growing scarcity, forcing rice-only diets and malnutrition. Overfishing by mechanised outsiders and pollution from tea estates have halved fish stocks, compelling communities to breach breeding bans (April–July) out of desperation.

For the Mising community, fishing is secondary to farming, but it too is suffering. Shorter floods mean fewer fish enter fields, hotter waters curb breeding, and overall catches decline. This erodes protein-rich diets and results in a 25–35% drop in income.

Cultural erosion

Festivals once synchronised with river cycles are now faltering. The Misings’ Ali-Aye-Ligang sowing rite in February–March features purang apin feasts and gumrag dances dedicated to deities Donyi and Polo, while Porag celebrates harvests with abor dances. The Kaibartas’ Moho-ho procession wards off pests through bear-costumed chants, and Maas Dhora Nritya mimics net hauling. However, youth migration to cities—particularly Bengaluru and Hyderabad—for garment work is hollowing out these traditions and weakening oral histories.

The 70-day pre-harvest window (October–December) further amplifies distress. In Bhakatsapori, dry spells parch soils or flash floods drown crops, fostering pests amid persistent fog. In Rajankhat, the shrinking Beel raises water temperatures, killing fish eggs, while unreliable cues such as Beel edges mislead breeding forecasts. Yields have fallen by 20–35%, compressing the safe harvesting period.

The need for government support

Government support remains inadequate. There are no early-warning systems for floods or droughts; relief arrives only after crises, with no crop or fishery insurance and little adaptation training. Anganwadis and schools flood or overheat, disrupting education. Access to healthcare depends largely on Ayushman Bharat cards obtained through informal means. Embankments in Bhakatsapori crumble due to poor soil quality, while Rajankhat’s wells and Beel edges leak during dry spells. Concrete infrastructure ignores traditional stilt-based designs, clashing with local knowledge.

Communities are demanding action. Bhakatsapori seeks stilt-based schools, timely dam-release alerts, and fair crop compensation. Rajankhat calls for Beel fortification, fish seed banks, and water-retention measures. Both communities advocate for women’s cooperatives in weaving and trading, oversight of dams by local councils, and hybrid infrastructure that blends indigenous wisdom with modern technology.

These guardians of Assam’s rivers—Misings, once warriors turned resilient farmers, and Kaibartas, ancient navigators—are demanding policies that honour their knowledge and practices. Integrating local wisdom with modern tools such as community-based warning systems and coordinated dam management could reduce migration, restore livelihoods, and safeguard cultural heritage.

The authors are researchers and founders of climate collectives, namely Palakiya Foundation and Team Zibon.