Learn Vocabulary from Newspaper Articles (THE HINDU)

Sorrowful song: on Assam's flood situation (THE HINDU)

Even as relief is rushed for the Assam floods, longer-term measures must be taken up

Assam’s Bihugeet songs celebrate the many colours of the Brahmaputra and its life-sustaining character, with stirring renditions by Bhupen Hazarika in praise of the grit of its people in their most challenging moment — when the river turns furious during the monsoon and floods the plains. That season is once again upon the State, and the death toll has crossed 40. Lakhs have been put off their normal stride, with tens of thousands displaced from their homes. The deluge has circled vast parts of the Kaziranga National Park, dispersing its wildlife into towns. There are dramatic images of a rhinoceros walking through the streets. A return to normality must now await abatement of the rising waters, and the drafting of a comprehensive relief plan by the Assam government with help from the Centre and the specialised units of the disaster response forces. Yet, short-term measures can have no lasting impact on the Brahmaputra’s course each year, as several factors influence its tendency to overrun its banks in the June-July season. Studies done after the 2012 floods, which affected some 2.3 million people, show that the river’s course from the Himalayan ranges has been bringing lots of sediment, raising its bed above the level of the plains. The Brahmaputra has the second highest sediment transport per unit of drainage area in the world. With aberrant climate and intensive monsoonal flows, flooding poses a major challenge.

The annual floods assume significance for the ecology of the national park. Although it causes woes for the animals, the park needs to be flooded every year as floods wash away the unwanted weeds and it is very vital for the ecosystem of the park, experts tell IANS. A forest official watches a One-Horned Rhino wade through flooded water in Kaziranga National Park in Kaziranga. As of July 12, 2017, the national reserve was about 75% under water, leaving some animals dead and forcing some to move to nearby higher lands, reported PTI A forest guard walks past a riding point submerged in flooded Kaziranga. Authorities are patrolling for poachers as rhinoceros, deer and buffalo move to higher ground to escape floods inundating an Indian preserve. People look on as a wild elephant crosses a road near the flood affected Kaziranga National Park. Animals have begun to migrate towards the Karbi Anglong Hills crossing the National Highway-37. Hog dear swim to cross flood waters in. According to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), nine hog deer were rescued from the Park on July 11, out of which three were released back into the wild. Members of the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), team rescue a hog deer from a house at Methoni Tea Estate market place at the flooded Kaziranga in Assam on Tuesday. Indian one-horn rhinoceros take shelter flood waters on higher land at Kaziranga. Currently, the Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Nimatighat in Jorhat, Tezpur in Sonitpur, along with Dibrugarh, Goalpara and Dhubri towns. Indian forest officials talk with forest guards at a flooded anti-poaching camp in Kaziranga. The park authorities have flown in drones to ensure security of animals in the park, particularly the famed one-horned rhinoceros. Authorities are running 208 relief camps and distribution centres in 16 districts, where 48,483 people are currently taking shelter. Across the state, 8,82,315 animals and poultry have been affected by the flood waters. The annual floods assume significance for the ecology of the national park. Although it causes woes for the animals, the park needs to be flooded every year as floods wash away the unwanted weeds and it is very vital for the ecosystem of the park, experts tell IANS. A forest official watches a One-Horned Rhino wade through flooded water in Kaziranga National Park in Kaziranga. As of July 12, 2017, the national reserve was about 75% under water, leaving some animals dead and forcing some to move to nearby higher lands, reported PTI

Assam receives a massive amount of rain every year, and an estimated average of 230 cm is recorded in the Brahmaputra basin. Combined with the characteristics of the river — it enters the State as a single channel but has a wide, braided course later and shrinks near Guwahati before expanding again — such high precipitation produces aggressive floodwaters. Its course has been studied extensively after the 2012 floods, providing insights into how remote sensing can help identify the most vulnerable areas and where remedial measures could work most effectively. Considering that the Assam elections in 2016 were strongly centred on environmental concerns, and the BJP-led government in the State has earlier spoken against big dams, getting a scientific understanding of the flooding phenomenon to inform policy is vital. On the ground, previous attempts at finding solutions appear to suffer from lack of attention to longer-term measures, such as better river management. The focus of civil society has been confined to immediate relief and rehabilitation. The government, on its part, must go beyond the necessary restoration of infrastructure such as embankments, bridges, buildings and communications structures. Relief measures will have to sensitively handle the tensions around identity conflicts between those claiming ethnicity vis-à-vis settled Bengalis. Also, Kaziranga needs better protection. Several wild animals have died in the floods, bringing back memories of the dreadful losses of 2012, when over 500 hog deer, 19 rhinos and 22 sambar perished.

IMPORTANT WORDS FROM ARTICLE & THEIR MEANING

1) Aberrant (धर्मपथ से हटनेवाला)  (adjective): ab-er-rant
Meaning - straying from the normal, usual or right way
Synonyms - 
 deviating, abnormal,unusual, atypical.
Antonyms -
 same, normal, regular, typical
Example -
When the astronomer looked into the telescope, he was shocked by the sight of a star moving in an aberrant path.

2) Stride (छलाँग ) (Noun):   strahyd
Meaning -
 a confident or assured walk full of purpose or arrogance
Synonyms -
 progress, proceed, move.
Antonyms -  amble, riffle, hobble
Example - When the interviewers saw their next candidate stride into the room with confidence they automatically considered him a serious contender.
3) Rendition( प्रतिपादन)  (noun): ren-dish-un
Meaning -   A presentation or version of something

Synonyms -
  interpretation .performance/presentation , execution
Antonyms - vagueness, counter, obscurity
Example -  The artist’s rendition of the song was extremely different from the original version.
4) Deluge   (बाढ़):   del-uge
Meaning - a large number of things occurring in the same instance
Synonyms -
flood, torrent, overflow of an area with water.
Antonyms- drought, trickle, death , barren
Example -
The noted physician received a deluge of awards for his work in AIDS research.
5) Embankment (तटबंध) (noun) :  em-bangk-ment
Meaning - a wall made of dirt or stone that is used to prevent a river from flooding
Synonyms - earth/stone wall/bank; causeway, barrage.

Example -
  Because so much rain filled the river, the stone embankmentwas not able to prevent flooding in the outer parts of the town.
6) Perish(नाश) (verb) :   per-ish
Meaning -
pass away; rot or decay
Synonyms die(suddenly), expire
Antonyms - 
survive, exist, live
Example -
We searched for a vaccination, fearing that we would perish by the plague.
7) Abatement (कमी) (noun): uh-beyt-mentMeaning - the action of becoming less intense or being reduced ; ending or subsiding.
Synonyms -  lessening, decrease, decline.
Antonyms - increase, boost, rise, augmentation
Example -
 Airlines do use noise- abatement procedures in Australia — using least..
8) Grit(धैर्य , बहादुरी  ) (noun): grit
Meaning - bravery and mental strength
Synonyms -  courage, bravery, mettle.
Antonyms -  weakness, cowardice, retard
Example -The former slave had the grit that gave her courage to free other slaves.
9) Stirring ( (सरगर्मी) (adjective):   stur-ingMeaning - causing excitement or strong emotion; rousing.
Synonyms 
-
exciting, thrilling/electrifying, emotional.
Antonyms -
Boring, dull, stoic
Example -
His stirring speech heated the audience's imagination.

10) Audacity (Verb)  - à¤¦ुस्साहस
Meaning - a willingness to take bold risks, rude or disrespectful behaviour; impudence.Synonyms - impudence, boldness, daringAntonyms -  timidity, fear, shynessExample (English) - He had the audacity to question my decision.Example (Hindi) - à¤‰à¤¸à¤®ें मेरे निर्णय पर संशय करने का à¤¦ुस्साहस à¤¥ा| 
Now considering the article above as a Reading Comprehension, try to answer the following questions-
  • What is the focus of Civil society according to the author?
  • What longer term measures have been suggested in the passage ?
Now it's time to check your vocabulary. We have given below some words from the same article. Try to make sentences with these words in the comment section which will be reviewed by us.
  • Sorrowful
  • Disperse
  • Lasting
  • Dreadful



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