Guwahati: LIC Housing Finance Limited (LIC HFL) has extended financial support to Aaranyak for a multifaceted community-based project in Assam’s Udalguri district.
The initiative aims to address pressing issues such as water scarcity, human-elephant conflict (HEC), and the impacts of climate change in 29 villages across the Bhergaon, Udalguri, and Majbat Development Blocks of the district.
Udalguri, situated near the foothills of the Bhutan Himalayas in the Bhabar zone, faces unique challenges due to its geohydrological conditions.
access is difficult, and communities rely on rivers and springs for their water needs.
The traditional Dong system, which channels water from these sources to villages via canals, has been severely impacted by drying rivers, degraded springs, and siltation, leaving many Dongs defunct.
As a result, areas like Dimakuchi are experiencing acute water shortages for drinking, agriculture, and daily needs.
Agriculture has also been adversely affected by reduced rainfall, Dong degradation, and frequent crop raiding by elephants.
Combined with rampant deforestation, erratic rainfall patterns, and prolonged dry spells linked to climate change, these challenges have diminished food security, increased poverty, and forced migration, further undermining community well-being.
The joint initiative by Aaranyak and LIC HFL seeks to implement sustainable solutions through a participatory approach that blends community insights with scientific assessments.
The project will focus on raising climate change awareness, enhancing adaptive capacity through training, conserving watersheds, rejuvenating water canals, promoting climate-smart agriculture, and offering alternative livelihood options.
Efforts will also target mitigating HEC-related issues, which have been a longstanding concern for the region.
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A team from LIC HFL, including Shekhar Mishra, Manager (Operation) at the Guwahati Back Office, and Abhinav Das from the CSR Department, Northeast Region, recently visited several project villages in Dimakuchi.
They engaged with Aaranyak representatives and local residents to understand the region’s challenges and the scope of the project.
Aaranyak’s team, led by Dr. Partha Jyoti Das, Head of the Water, Climate, and Hazard Division, and Dr. Bibhuti Prasad Lahkar, Head of the Elephant Research and Conservation Division, accompanied the LIC HFL delegation.
