Anti-CAA stir takes toll on livelihoods of locals
RAJAPARA (Kamrup): Unlike in the previous years when tourists and picnickers from near and far would have thronged Chandubi Lake by this time, a natural hot-spot bordering the foothills of Meghalaya, the season this year has been anything but peak.
So much so that the first boat ride would start in the afternoon on a week day and there would be about just a couple of rides more for the day.
The cancellation of an annual Chandubi festival in the wake of an uncertain situation amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 earlier this month did not help matters, affecting the livelihoods of the 80-odd boatmen the most.
“This has been by far the worst time during peak season for several years now. The flow of tourists and visitors to the hotspot is the highest during five days of the Chandubi festival starting from the new year. During the festival, we used to earn the most (about Rs 1000 per boatman on an average per day) while during week days of the peak season about Rs 500 per day. This year, we would get lucky to earn Rs 100 per day,” said Jayanta Rabha, a boatman for several years now.
Chandubi Lake is located in Kamrup district about 65 km to the southwest of Guwahati.
As of today, the historic lake wears a desolate look, with hardly any visitors. The only people to be seen are caretakers at the Assam Tourism guest house in the vicinity and a few boatmen waiting to get lucky.
“Our business has been hit as tourists have been very less this season, even during weekends,” said B Rabha, the proprietor of an eatery close to the hot-spot.
Asked about the state of affairs, Debajit Napha, advisor of the Chandubi organising fesitival committee, told The Shillong Times on Thursday attributed the reason to the current uncertainty amid the movement against the contentious legislation.
“We can only attribute the lack of tourist footfall to the anti-CAA movement, for which we had to call off the annual festival. The committee has incurred a huge loss as well. Picnic parties too have been very few,” Napha said.
The festival was first organised in 2010 to make people aware about the rich biodiversity of the lake, which was formed out of the great Assam earthquake of 1897.
Napha, however, pointed out that the water area of the lake has been receding over the years.
“The water level of the adjoining Kulshi river invariably dries up in winter leading to flow of water from the lake to the river. Besides, sand mining in the river too has not helped. This is something that the authorities need to address if the lake has to have adequate water,” he said.
On the other hand, wild growth of marshlands and aquatic vegetation including water hyacinth and algae in and around the water body has affected the water area substantially.
“We want the authorities to clean and maintain the lake regularly. Such vegetation grows in abundance making the lake appear shallow during winter,” a member of the Chandubi Boating Committee, said.