India’s Sivasagar District Emerges As Assam’s Eco-Tourism Leader With Groundbreaking Bamboo Projects And Sustainable Growth Initiatives

Published on March 21, 2025

Borgaon village, nestled within the Rajabari gaon panchayat, is part of a picturesque cluster of villages by the Brahmaputra. The community, made up of Deori, Mising, Gorkha, and ‘tea tribe’ residents, primarily sustains itself through farming, livestock rearing, and fishing. Meanwhile, Assam’s historic town of Sivasagar has been selected for the Eco-Tourism & Amrit Dharohar Site category under Swadesh Darshan 2.0, offering a significant boost to India’s tourism development.

One such resident, Hira Robi Das, vividly recalls a tragic incident from the previous year when an elephant fatally trampled a woman from a nearby village. This is just one example of the ongoing conflict between humans and elephants, a harsh reality for those living close to wildlife corridors and flood-prone areas.

Despite these challenges, there is a glimmer of hope for the villagers. In 2024, the local administration initiated a transformative project to address both economic struggles and elephant-related conflicts. The project aims to rehabilitate Moh Khua chapori, an uninhabited island in the Brahmaputra River, into a thriving bamboo plantation that will create job opportunities for locals while helping reduce human-elephant encounters.

Spearheaded by the Sivasagar district administration in collaboration with QuickEdge Integrated LLP, the project aims to create a sustainable bamboo forest. This will involve planting bamboo to be harvested for sale to an ethanol refinery, with a portion of the revenue benefiting the Rajabari gaon panchayat. The project began under the leadership of Aditya Vikram Yadav, the former district commissioner of Sivasagar, whose efforts were recently recognized with The Indian Express Governance Award in March 2025 in the “Sustainability” category.

From May to June 2024, the district planted 70,000 bamboo saplings across 80 hectares of land. This large-scale plantation initiative not only offers new employment opportunities but also promotes a sustainable approach to resource management. According to Luit Deori, a resident of Borgaon, local men were employed through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to help dig trenches and support the plantation. “Around 70 to 80 people worked on the project every day during the planting season, and there are further opportunities for work in the harvesting and processing phases,” he explains.

As part of the effort to mitigate human-elephant conflict, trenches were dug around the bamboo plantation to act as barriers against elephants. However, the island was kept open as an elephant corridor. Additionally, a 20-hectare area was planted with napier grass to provide food for the elephants, hoping to divert them from seeking fodder in nearby villages. Unfortunately, during the floods, the trenches proved ineffective as elephants managed to swim across the water into the plantation area.

In response, the project team has devised a solution to install solar-powered fencing around the plantation before the upcoming monsoon season. Gyandeep Baruah, who is working with QuickEdge, believes that the solar fencing will be crucial in preventing elephants from entering the area and will give the bamboo forest time to mature. “This is a key step in ensuring that the plantation develops successfully and that elephants are kept at bay until the ecosystem stabilizes,” Baruah says.

The Borgaon bamboo project is not only working to solve human-elephant conflicts but also striving to create a model of sustainable development that can be replicated in other rural areas. The initiative offers new economic opportunities for local residents, contributing to the region’s overall growth while addressing environmental and social concerns.

Meanwhile, Sivasagar district continues to undergo notable changes across various sectors:

Extension of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA): In October 2024, the Assam government extended AFSPA for six months in Sivasagar and three other districts due to increasing security concerns following disturbances in neighboring Bangladesh. This law grants special powers to security forces to maintain order in areas marked as “disturbed.”

New Judicial Infrastructure: On June 16, 2024, a new judicial court building was inaugurated in Sivasagar, enhancing the district’s legal infrastructure. This initiative, led by the state government, was designed to improve the justice delivery system and ensure timely adjudication of legal matters.

Traffic Tragedy: A tragic accident on February 10, 2025, in Sivasagar district resulted in the deaths of nine people and several injuries after a collision between a bus and a minibus. The incident has highlighted concerns about road safety in the region, prompting local authorities to consider better traffic management measures.

Sports Triumph: In March 2025, the Bordoloi Trophy, one of Assam’s most prestigious football tournaments, saw NF Railway SA claim their first-ever title in a dramatic penalty shootout victory over NorthEast United FC. The final, held at Judges Field in Guwahati, was a testament to the growing popularity of football in the region.

These developments reflect Sivasagar’s ongoing commitment to infrastructure development, security, legal reforms, and community welfare, signaling a promising future for the district.