Recurring floods and erosion are the regular annual visitors to the flood plains of upper Assam across. But despite the vagaries of the Subansiri and Ranganadi rivers, the flood-hit families return to their risky but familiar environs, and try to rebuild lives with renewed vigour.

The ecological history of the Chaibari village and the river Kaldiya has largely been shaped by intimate relations between the river and the communities settled along its banks. Both had influence on each other, at times friendly, at other times, adversarial; it was a connector as well as a divider.

Kobo Chapori, a tiny island close to where the mighty Brahmaputra was formed after the confluence of three big snow-fed rivers (Dehang (Siang), Dibang and Lohit), has been witnessed to unprecedented hydro-ecological transformation since the Great Earthquake of 1950. 

This story brings – the daily struggle of tea garden families for securing safe drinking water at the Borhat Tea Estate.. Ranjita Bania and Ishani Gogoi travelled to the Borhat Tea Estate to assess what it took to secure water for the tea garden workers, especially women who they met during their visit. 

Returning after 30 years to Singerband, Swapan Ashangbam was taken aback by the rapid ‘development’ of the area. What struck him most was the complete detachment of the community’s life with the river Barak, which he recalled, was central to village life. Now, people hardly use the river.