Dibrugarh, July 21: With the Brahmaputra continuing to erode vast stretches of land in Dibrugarh district, anxious residents of Mohanaghat Tingkhong Bhanga Ali gathered on the riverbank on Tuesday to offer special prayers, seeking divine intervention against the river’s relentless advance.
Hundreds of villagers, including men, women and the elderly, took part in the traditional river worship ceremony, performing Vedic rituals and Naam-Kirtan as they prayed for protection from further erosion.
As part of the observance, devotees offered maah-prasad, betel leaves, areca nuts and other traditional offerings before floating a symbolic banana-stem raft on the Brahmaputra, praying for the safety of families living along its vulnerable banks.
The religious ceremony reflected the growing anxiety in the village, where residents say the river has been steadily devouring homes and fertile farmland for nearly five decades.
Villagers said hundreds of bighas of agricultural land have already been lost to erosion, forcing many families to abandon their ancestral homes and struggle to rebuild their lives elsewhere.
Although the Water Resources Department has undertaken erosion-control measures in the area, residents said a fresh spell of severe erosion about a week ago has once again heightened fears that more land could be lost during the ongoing monsoon.
For many in Mohanaghat Tingkhong Bhanga Ali, Monday’s prayers were more than a religious ritual—they were an expression of hope as they confront the Brahmaputra’s unrelenting assault on their homes, farmlands and livelihoods.
