Pakke, Arunachal Pradesh : Flash floods have, for the first time, submerged huge tracts of forest land on the east bank of the Pakke river in the north eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh displacing people and wildlife. Earlier unconfirmed reports of 10 deaths were untrue.

Heavy rains in the upper reaches of the catchment areas of the north eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh resulted in flash floods in Pakke River yesterday afternoon. However, there were no casualties, mainly because the floods occurred during the day. Flood waters broke the embankments on the east bank of Pakke River and submerged most settlements in lower Seijosa town, depositing a large amount of silt.

Preliminary reports from Seijosa revealed that the town of lower Seijosa was affected by the floods. Seijosa is located very close to the Assam border near Tezpur. Just ten years ago, this area was covered with thick tropical evergreen forests, which were cut down by Bodo settlers, who came in over the last five years. The road that connects lower Seijosa to the Hathibatti checkpost in Assam has been washed away. Sikkimbhai, a policeman drove ten kilometers on his motorcycle to the nearest telephone booth to apprise us of the situation. “The Irrigation Inspection Bungalow, Forest Dept. staff quarters, Public Works Department guest house, Forest Range office and the Divisional Forest Officer’s residence were submerged and the only bridge that connects the two banks of the river has been damaged,” he said.

The Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) run by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in partnership with International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has been unaffected by the flash flood so far as it is located on the west bank of Pakke River. It was the east bank that bore the brunt of the flash floods yesterday, where the towns of Lower Seijosa and Upper Seijosa are located.

The four bears at the centre have recently been shifted to their new enclosures to prepare them for release into the wild. These shelters are 10 times larger than the temporary shelters that housed them so far. The facility in addition also has a 5,000 sq. m. acclimatization zone with plenty of large trees, shrubs and climbers for the bears to use.

Dr NVK Ashraf, Dy. Director of the Wild Rescue programme that manages the CBRC however expressed his doubts about the bears remaining safe in their enclosures through the season. “Although yesterday’s flash floods have not affected the centre, there is no guarantee about this in future because if the waters rise gradually, then there are chances of the west bank too being affected. There is only one connecting bridge between the two river banks, and if people from the centre cannot travel to the east bank, the animals and people on the west bank will shortly face a crisis for food and other supplies,” Dr. Ashraf expressed his concern.

Dr. Prabal Sarkar, a Senior Field Officer at CBRC gave an update of the aftermath of the flash floods from Pakke. “The entire topography of the east bank has changed beyond recognition. Huge amounts of silt were deposited following the flash floods, many houses have developed cracks, and the army is air-dropping supplies to us on the west bank as we are totally cut-off from civilization”, he said. Some supplies are being transferred from the east to the west bank through a makeshift pulley. Authorities of the Nameri National Park , located near Pakke have sent a boat with some life jackets to ferry people and supplies between the two river banks. “Drinking water is also at a premium on the west bank as the only well that was the source of drinking water has been damaged by the flash floods. Power supply at CBRC has been disrupted since last month”, reported Dr Sarkar.

Pictures: Dr.P S Easa, WTI