The island of Majuli on the river Brahmaputra has been under constant threat from floods as well as rising erosion levels. Tension has simmered between development agencies responsible for flood control and the local people who have opposed the structural measures. The proposed Bogibeel bridge has evoked concerns that the conflict will see an escalation.

Gnaws at its banks in Assam

Majuli, a river island within the two arms of the mighty Brahmaputra river, is a site having extreme historical and cultural importance, and warrants immediate exposure to the scientific community. The island faces an acute erosion problem as no permanent anti-erosion measures based on proper geohydrological models have been adopted so far. The land area of the island, as evidenced from the IRS satellite imagery of 1998, is 577.65 km2 compared to 1245 km2 according to available historical records. The available data indicate an erosion rate of 1.9 km2 / yr for the period of 1920–98.

Villagers of Bhuragaon in Assam no longer depend on the government for protecting their lands from the currents of the Brahmaputra. They have, instead, adopted a new method to save their crop and hearth by digging in spurs

Ever since the inception of Bangladesh in 1972 its politics have been featured by several types of seemingly endemic conflict, some of which have been associated with either periodic outbursts of violence or prolonged relatively low-key armed confrontations.

The insular but self sufficient existence of the marine nomads inhabiting the islands that pepper the Brahmaputra river as it winds across Assam illustrates how humans can adapt their lifestyle to harmonise with their surroundings. But it's a tou