Every monsoon, the Siang River takes a little more. This year, it took a lot.
A Threat That Comes Every Year Without Fail
Officials from the district administration and the Water Resources Department arrived at Borguli village in Arunachal Pradesh’s Mebo Sub-Division on August 3 to see the damage for themselves. What they found wasn’t surprising to the people who live there — but the scale of it was hard to ignore. Severe erosion along the Siang River had washed away agricultural land and directly threatened the livelihoods of local farming families. Continuous monsoon-triggered flooding had caused around 600 metres of riverbank erosion, washing away an estimated 10,800 square metres of farmland as of August 3. To put that in perspective — that’s land that families depend on for food and income, simply gone.
The Fields That Fed Families, Now Underwater
The Kongkin Wet Rice Cultivation fields took the worst of it. These WRC fields serve as the primary source of livelihood for many residents of the area. Wet rice farming isn’t just agriculture here — it’s identity, tradition, and sustenance all rolled into one. Watching the river swallow those fields season after season must feel like losing a part of yourself. The inspection team, led by Pasighat Additional Deputy Commissioner and DC in-charge Pebika Lego, also included Mebo ADC Nancy Yirang, Namsing Circle Officer Toimi Tagi, WRD Assistant Engineer Bani Langkam, Borguli Gaon Burah Nogen Yirang, and local villagers. They assessed the damage on the ground and assured residents that a detailed report would be prepared and submitted to the appropriate authorities, along with proposals for long-term flood mitigation.
An MLA Who’s Tired of Watching Villages Suffer
Mebo MLA Oken Tayeng, who directed officials to inspect the flood-hit areas, urged the Arunachal Pradesh government to take immediate steps to address the recurring flood and erosion problems along the Siang River. “Recurring” is the word that stings. Villages such as Borguli, Seram, Namsing, Mer, Gadum and Sigar suffer extensive damage every year due to flooding, resulting in the loss of hundreds of hectares of agricultural and residential land. Every single year. The same villages. The same destruction. And the same wait for something to actually change.
What Needs to Happen — And Fast
Tayeng isn’t just raising an alarm — he’s come with a demand. He called for the construction of a flood protection embankment along the Siang River from Sigar village to Mer village, stressing that such a project would require support from both the state and central governments to safeguard the lives, livelihoods and farmlands of people living in the Lower Mebo and Monggu Banggo areas. It’s a reasonable ask. An embankment isn’t a luxury here — it’s a lifeline.
Abotani TV’s Take
The officials visited, the reports will be filed, and then the waiting begins. For the farming families of Borguli and the surrounding villages, hope has a season too — and they’re running out of it. The Siang doesn’t wait for paperwork. Until there’s a permanent embankment standing between these communities and the river, every monsoon will be another gamble with everything they own.
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