Parijat Borgohain and Abul Fazal Murtaza Ahmed
Abstract
The Brahmaputra flows through the state of Assam over a stretch of 640 km, with its middle course comparatively wider and slower. This has led to siltation and formation of innumerable sand bars on its bed (Bhagabati, et al., 2007). Most of the Chars or sand bars in the Brahmaputra are temporary or, at best, semi-permanent. Even then, the Char Area Development Corporation, Assam, has identified more than a thousand Chars that are relatively stable. The inhabitants of these âCharsâ are the immigrants/migrants of erstwhile East Bengal (present Bangladesh) with agriculture and fishing as their main occupations (Nayak, 2012). Most migrants came from Mymensing, Pabna, Bagura and Rangpur districts of East Bengal (now Bangladesh) (Bokth, 2014). The present study investigates the changes in the land use pattern in the char areas of Nalbari district of Assam and how the land use changes have resulted in the diversification of occupation among the char dwellers.