Assam’s Dora Beel, a wetland and lake that’s home to river dolphins, has been facing threats of sand mining and pollution. Now conservation initiatives, including a local festival, are trying to make a difference.
Dora Beel in Assam is a naturalist’s paradise that presents the possibility of seeing 193 species of birds at a single place, not to mention a huge variety of fishes and snakes like monocled cobra, Indian rat snake, Indochinese rat snake, copper headed trinket, rainbow water snake and Burmese python. However a complex set of natural and anthropogenic factors has impacted the biodiversity of the waterbody, especially threatening the Ganges river dolphins (Gangetica platanista).
The Ganges river dolphin is the national aquatic animal of India and the state aquatic animal of Assam. These dolphins are found in Kulsi and Kolohe rivers – the tributaries of River Brahmaputra in Assam. They feed on the steadily decreasing population of non-scale fish found in the lake (locally called beel), the breeding ground for the dolphins.
The dolphin population is concentrated in a 15 km stretch of River Brahmaputra, near Chaygaon and Kukurmara villages in Kamrup Rural district. In 2006, there were 27 dolphins in this area which increased to 39 in 2010. According to the latest census, the current population is only 16, said Debajeet Chaudhary, a local social worker associated with the water body.
The Kulsi river splits into two streams, entering Chaygaon and Kukurmara villages, respectively. Most of the water enters the Chaygaon side, leading to minimal water entering the lake through Beeldorajaan, a single channel connecting Kukurmara side of Kulsi River to Dora Beel in Assam. In winter, no water enters the Kukurmara side, making it almost dry. This is responsible for the decrease in the population of dolphins, according to Chaudhary and the people living near the river.
The sand in Kukurmara is known for being clean and refined, which has led to excessive sand mining in Kulsi, deepening the riverbed, making the water turbid and decreasing its quality. Furthermore, siltation in Dora Beel has decreased its depth.
Water is no longer able to enter the lake through Beeldorajaan – except during the rainy season – and it remains dry the entire year. In June 2023, out of 178 hectares, water was available only in 2.6 hectares of the wetland. Fish no longer breed during the non-rainy season and the dolphins do not get their food.
Various factories set up nearly nine years ago on common grazing grounds adjacent to Dora Beel drain their waste near the lake. Local and migratory birds like the Oriental pratincole, bar headed goose, Eurasian teal and Northern shoveler which come during the winter are at risk because of this wastewater.
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There are several interconnected channels from Deepor Beel – a Ramsar wetland – to Dora Beel in Assam. These help combat floods in Deepor, by allowing the water to flow to Dora and then to Brahmaputra through Kulsi. This has proved to be harmful for Dora because the untreated greywater and sewerage from Deepor which adjoins the Guwahati municipal area enters the Dora Beel through this channel.
“A research on Dora Beel, conducted by Guwahati University in 1976, found that 89 varieties of fish existed at that time. Now the number is less than half,” said Chaudhary.
“Constructing a small dam in Kulsi would allow the water to stagnate and enter the waterbody through Beeldorajaan channel, allowing the fish to breed in the river so that the dolphins will have enough to feed on,” said Chaudhary, when asked for possible solutions. “It would also be cheaper.”
“Another way could be excavating soil in Dora Beel, making the level equal to the sand mined Kulsi. Or the opposite could be done, which is to fill the land in Kulsi so that the riverbed is lowered,” he added.
Over the years, various steps have been taken by local organisations to safeguard the waterbody. They successfully thwarted plans for construction of a wine factory spanning 26 hectares in 2010.
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“If established, the factory would have depleted the groundwater levels and polluted the beel,” said Chaudhary who played a leading role in the resistance movement.
The resistance movement began with a series of seminars and awareness events held by organisations such as the Banyabondhu group, Vasundhara for New Days and Dakshin Sarub Bongsher Mouja Unyana. It lasted two years and succeeded in preventing the factory being set up.
“Banyabondhu group was started in 2020 and has 12 active members who work for conservation of the beel and public awareness. We also specialise in snake bite awareness,” said Madhav Medhi, secretary of Banyabondhu.
The group plans to document the species of birds through the ebird application and want Dora Beel to be declared as a wildlife sanctuary in order to conserve the flora and fauna in Assam. Every Environment Day, these organisations participate to form a human chain around Kulsi, to protest against sand mining and ensure the safety of the river dolphins.
For the last six years, a 5-day festival is being organised here to spread awareness and preserve the culture of the people surrounding it. Dora Beel Mahotsav is celebrated from 25 to 29 January every year.
“The beel has shrunk from 1,300 bighas to roughly 800 bighas, the rest of the land has been encroached by people,” said Milan Majumdar, head of the Dora Beel Mahotsav committee that organises the festival. The committee has 26 members, and residents from surrounding villages extend help.
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Some of the activities that take place during this festival are display of fish nets of various sizes, in addition to eri silk clothes and traditional clothes from the Mishing, Deori, Rabha, Bodo, Hajog and Kasari tribes.
Stalls sell apong – a local rice beer, besides delicacies made of pork, crab, goroi fish. Another culinary attraction is the pitha – a sweet made from rice that has two varieties, namely, sua which is made in bamboo and jhila which is fried in oil.
Talks by biodiversity experts are also held to help the local people understand the significance of the environment and the importance of Dora Beel.
“It should be declared a Ramsar site so that it gets more attention. More migratory birds come to Dora Beel than the Ramsar site Deepor Beel,” said Majumdar. “Tourism will also increase, benefiting the local people.”
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The lead image at the top shows Dora Beel during the onset of monsoon (Photo by Kinshuk Ghosh)
Kinshuk Ghosh is a second-year student at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, and pursuing Bsc B.Ed in Physics.
