JORHAT: Majuli, the world’s largest river island, may not get Unesco’s world heritage site tag this year as well with the government yet to submit the required dossier to Unesco.
The last date for submission of the same is June 20.
The people of Majuli recently organised a public meeting at Kamalabari and formed a nine-member committee to take up the matter with the government.
The committee met chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and local MLA Sarbananda Sonowal (also the former chief minister) during their recent visit to the island and requested them to take necessary steps to expedite the matter.
The committee has also sent a letter to the government seeking a status report on the initiatives taken to prepare the dossier, which is like a conclusive documentary of the island.
“Besides raising our demands before the chief minister and the local MLA, we sent a letter to the government seeking a status report on the matter.
But we are yet to receive any response from the government in this regard so far,” said Jagat Hazarika, a social worker and convener of the committee on Sunday.
Hazarika, a former secretary of Majuli Suraksha Samannaya Mancha, an organisation formed for protection and development of the river island, said: “The Government of India will have to submit the dossier by June 20.
Sadly, nothing has been done in case of Majuli so far.
Although the demand to make Majuli a world heritage site has been made since 2000 and nomination dossiers were submitted to the Unesco in 2006, 2012 and 2014.
Majuli will be deprived of getting the global recognition once again due to lapse on part of the government.” Majuli was shortlisted in the world heritage site tentative list at the world heritage committee session at Suzhou in China in 2004.
Subsequently, a comprehensive dossier was submitted in 2006 followed by additional information in 2008.
In 2011, the Centre proposed the name of Majuli for its inclusion in the ‘cultural landscape’ category of Unesco world heritage site.
The government along with the Archaeological Survey of India had also appointed a conservation architect as the man to prepare the nomination dossier for the proposal which was submitted to Unesco in February 2012.
In 2017, the culture ministry decided to send the proposal for Majuli’s inclusion to Unesco.
Earlier, the government had also formed Majuli cultural landscape management authority in 2006.
Majuli is located in the middle of the Brahmaputra river.
In 2016 it was declared as a district of Assam and became the first island district in the country.
According to official records, Majuli originally spread over an area of 880 square km at the beginning of 20th century.
However, over the years, due to severe erosion and deforestation, the island’s size shrunk to about 400 square km by 2014.
Majuli is the seat of neo-Vaishnaviate culture initiated by reformist saint Srimanta Sankardeva and his disciple Madhavdeva in 16th century who established about 70 Vaishnaviate monasteries.
Majuli is the hotspot of flora and fauna and a popular tourist destination.