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2.2.2 Geographical location of Majuli
2.2.2 Geographical location of Majuli
In north east India, in the disaster-prone state of
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Assam, Majuli Island is surviving for its identity.
The world's largest inhabited river island encompassed by the
Brahmaputra River. Majuli is at the risk of being swallowed by the
Brahmaputra River anytime.
The river Brahmaputra divides into two channelsthe northern Kherkutia Channel and the southern Brahmaputra Channel between Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur Districts and both the channels join again about 85 km downstream at Ukhalchuk forming Majuli, the largest inhabited River Island in India.
Figure 26: Majuli between the two channels; Source: mapsofindia.com
The width of the island (North-South) varies between 10 to 15 km. The Majuli Island is a part of Majuli Revenue Circle. As per the revenue records, the area of Majuli revenue circle in the year 1950 was 1245.12 sq-km. It included entire reach of Brahmaputra water body up to the left bank along Sibsagar, Jorhat and Golaghat districts. But as per Survey of India map, the area of Majuli Island was only 733.79 sq km in the year 1914.
The Majuli island is an administrative Sub-division under Jorhat district. The island represents a colourful rainbow of cultural integration with 70% of its population belonging to tribal communities such as Mishing, Deori, Kachari and Koch Rajbongshi. It has a population of 1.68 lakh as per 2011 census. Majuli Island has been under serious attack by the mighty Brahmaputra. Loss of land mass on account of erosion of Brahmaputra River bank has been regular feature for Majuli island.
The fury of the floods that Majuli encountered in 2017 can gauged by the fact that at least 50,000 people were affected by the flood and 49 villages and 1760 hectors of crop were damaged. Majuli has shrank from 1256 sq km in 1971 to only 524 sq km in 2016 loosing half of its area, 67 villages have eroded away by Brahmaputra Floods. The way to reach Majuli is a two-hour ferry ride from the mainland. The island is known for it's rich biodiversity, native tribal population residing in stilted homes. 17
17 Baleshwar Singh, 2011, Influence Of Landform And Geomorphic Process On Topographic Evolution Of A River Island
