Ground Zero (Upper Assam): As five western Assam districts have been officially declared drought-hit and the state records a 44 percent rainfall deficit in June and July, a ground reality check in eastern Assam reveals a grim picture unfolding silently, barren paddy fields, dying crops, abandoned tea gardens, and a haunting sense of hopelessness among farmers.
From Kakopathar to Sadiya, Dirak to Barekuri, once-flourishing agricultural belts in Tinsukia district, the scene is bleak. At dawn, this correspondent visited several paddy-growing villages, expecting to meet farmers busy in their fields. Instead, large swathes of farmland lay deserted, and paddy saplings sown weeks earlier now lie yellowed, wilted, and scorched, with deep cracks splitting the soil.
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Farming families had fenced their fields in anticipation of monsoon showers, before the Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya, but the rains never came. Left with no choice, they’ve begun abandoning their crops.
In Kakopathar, Biren Moran, a seasoned farmer, was found lying silently on a bed in his bamboo hut. Persuaded to speak, he reflected on the drastic change in climate.
“In the 1990s, we had heavy rainfall day and night in June and July. We would sit before bonfires in July! Those days were a boon for farmers. But now, months pass without a single good shower.”
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Moran added, “The rivers are shrinking. We were dependent only on nature. Now it’s clear—we need artificial irrigation to survive.”
The highways from Sadiya to Kakopathar and Dirak to Digboi, once flanked by lush green paddy waving in the wind, are now eerily brown and silent. The drought isn’t confined to Tinsukia. Reports from Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Golaghat, and Dibrugarh also show similar devastation.
Even birds, once common in the rice fields, are now seen wandering into human settlements, tired and disoriented in search of food.
Tea gardens, too, are suffering. While larger plantations have managed artificial rain through irrigation machines, small growers are in dire distress.
Gajendra Phukan, a struggling tea planter from Barekuri, said, “With hope, I established a small tea estate. But with no rain, I feel hopeless. It is hard to sustain. I plead with the Assam Government and the Centre to help us survive.”
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently stated that the government is monitoring the rainfall deficit across all districts and will declare drought status as per evolving situations. Meanwhile, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority and the Agriculture Department are on alert.
But the crisis raises bigger questions — is Assam prepared for climate unpredictability? Once considered a monsoon-reliable region, the state is now witnessing the stark impact of climate change, with erratic weather, dry spells, and vanishing water bodies.
From the helpless farmer in Kakopathar to the struggling tea grower in Barekuri, the message is clear — Assam’s rural economy is under severe threat. Without urgent intervention, artificial irrigation support, and relief measures, the damage could spiral into a full-scale agrarian disaster.
As one farmer summed it up, standing before a parched field under a blazing sun: “We don’t need sympathy. We need water, support, and action—now.”