Newsletter No . 60 ; IRBMS
Brahmaputra is a unique river in the sense that the river drains through diverse environment , viz . cold dry plateau in Tibet , rain-drenched Himalayan slopes , the land locked alluvial plains of Assam , and the vast deltaic flood plains of Bangladesh . The state wise drainage area of the river basin is ; Arunachal Pradesh – 83,740 sq . km , Assam – 71 , 216 sq . km , West Bengal – 12 , 585 sq . km , Meghalaya – 12 , 780 sq . Km , Nagaland – 10,895 sq . km , Sikkim – 7,100 sq . km .
Mythology Like all rivers in east there are many stories associated with Brahmaputra since time immemorial . As it is one of the main river of Tibet there are stories in Tibet itself . In Hindu mythology , Amogha , wife of Sage Santanu , had a child by Lord Brahma , the creator of the Universe . The child took the form of water . Santanu placed the child right in the middle of four great mountains – Kailash , Gandhamadana , Jarudih , and Sambwartakka . He ultimately grew into a big lake Brahmakunda . Parsurama , an incarnation of Lord Vishnu , had committed a great sin of killing his own mother at the order of his father . So great was the sin that the axe he used to kill his mother got stuck in his hand . The sages advised Parasurama to visit holy places . At Brahmakunda , he asked down one side of the mountains , releasing the water to help the locals . This got the name Brahmaputra or son of Brahma . To Parasurama ’ s great relief , the
axe came lose , and blood from the axe was washed off , leaving a reddish tinge in the river . Hence the name “ Luit ” ( from Sanskrit word Lohid means blood ).
Another legend goes on to add that Parasurama used to plough to further furrow the soft soil to make a paths for the waters to flow to the plains . Tired , he stopped at a place near Sonargaon . Here , his plough or “ Langal ” came to a standstill or “ bandh ”, and this place got called “ Langalbandh ”, which is considered to be a very holy place to round of a pilgrimage with a dip in the river Brahmaputra .
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Special Feature : -
Lapodia – An Example
Lapodia is a small village in Rajasthan . Nearly 25 years ago , Lapodia had been lain waste by repeated cycles of drought . Dry parched fields without agriculture , dry pastures , and dry tanks & ponds was the face of the village . Nearly all able-bodied men had to migrate to Jaipur the nearest town in search of livelihood . Even those from well-off farming families were left with little option . But in 2004 the same Lapodia is facing another rainless year , one of a cycle of six consecutive years of drought . But unlike other villages in its vicinity , it has managed to conserve its greenery . Lapodia has achieved the impossible by going back to its hoary
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Integrated River Basin Management Society