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Boats
continue to be lifeline of Assam's Majuli river island
by Peter Alex Todd
Jorhat
(Assam): Boats even today continue to be the lifeline
of the world's largest river island, Majuli, in Assam.
"Everything to the island including vehicles, people,
cows and gas cylinders go to the island through this route
by these boats," said Rahul Kumar Das, a worker on one
of the boats. Residents of the Majuli island who get 80
per cent of their daily use items from Jorhat say that
the numbers of ferries need to be increased. "Majuli island
has over 1, 50, 000 people and goods of daily use for
us have to be transported through these boats. 80 per
cent of the goods are transported through this route.
We need commercial vessels and cargo vessels. We have
few ships that transport goods to the Majuli Island from
Jorhat," said Sorab Borah, a resident of Majuli Island.
Boats are the only link to the world for those living
in the island engulfed by the mighty water of the Brahmaputra
River. Brahmaputra River is among world's most ferocious.
For the people of the region, small ferries plying from
the mainland to the island offer the most economical and
time saving mode of transport. Bound by the Brahmaputra
to the south and the Subansiri and Kherketia in the North
Majuli has a population of about 150,000 people. The only
way to reach this island is through a huge ferry that
is packed with cars, scooters, cycles, gas cylinders,
and food material.
-Jan
19, 2009
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