Three decades ago, one could enjoy the views of the Nagaland Hills while travelling from Jorhat to Mariani. Though the journey to this small town takes only 20 minutes, the scenic beauty near the roadside makes it mesmerising. People often like to take a short sortie through this road, especially during the afternoon to live some stress-free moments away from their busy life. But now the sights of the hills have become less visible while travelling to Mariani. The newly built houses near the roads completely block their view. The same is the case while travelling to Guwahati. Up to Dergaon, one can see only Dhaba and houses near the roads. The scenic beauty of the paddy fields has got hidden behind the human constructions. And there will be no surprise if 60 years from now, the entire road connecting Jorhat to Guwahati gets occupied by shops, houses and other constructions on both sides. Because this is where the unfettered urbanisation is leading us to: to a constricted world. The government is emphasising to protect the public spaces like parks and playgrounds inside the cities, whereas areas surrounding the cities are gradually shrinking due to human occupation in various forms. And this rapid urbanisation is nothing but the direct effect of population explosion.
But have we thought about what this growing population can cause to us, apart from reducing the green spaces of the earth? Because every natural disaster that is occurring today is directly connected to the rising population. The more the population rises, the more the fuel burning takes place from the vehicles and factories to meet the growing human demands, ultimately causing the rise in Earth's average temperature. The recent incidents of GLOF (glacial lake outburst flood) in Nepal and Bhutan are a stark indication of global warming caused by the rising population. Today we are worried about the depleting green spaces near the roadside, but if the population is not checked in time, it will wreak havoc in all forms one day and make us yearn for fresh air and water for survival.
Kabir Ahmed Saikia,
Rajabari, Jorhat
Siang’s warning
A dam may harness a river, but it must never drown the history, identity and existential rights of the people inhabiting its banks.
The escalating anti-Siang dam agitation, which has reached the national capital with students and activists gathering Arunachal Bhawan and hundreds reportedly being detained, exposes a profound conflict between developmental ambition and indigenous sovereignty. The apprehensions of Arunachal Pradesh’s indigenous communities cannot be brushed aside as reflexive resistance to infrastructure. The proposed project raises legitimate questions about the displacement of villages, submergence of ancestral territories, ecological degradation and the irreversible erosion of customary practices and cultural identities.
The Siang is not merely a hydrological resource waiting to be exploited; it is an ecological lifeline intertwined with the collective memory, livelihood and cosmology of indigenous communities. Displacing people from ancestral landscapes entails far more than monetary compensation. It fractures intergenerational relationships with land, forests and rivers, producing cultural dispossession that no rehabilitation package can adequately redress.
Moreover, in a seismically sensitive and ecologically fragile Himalayan region, the cumulative consequences of massive dam construction warrant rigorous scrutiny. Strategic imperatives and energy security cannot become convenient fig leaves for circumventing environmental accountability and democratic consent. The government must engage with affected communities through transparent consultations, independent environmental assessments and credible impact studies before pushing the project forward. Coercive responses to peaceful dissent will only deepen mistrust and aggravate alienation.
Development that tramples indigenous rights is ultimately self-defeating. The Siang must illuminate a sustainable future, not become a monument to displaced lives and drowned identities. A river can be dammed, but the conscience of a civilisation must never be silenced.
Dipen Gogoi,
Teok, Jorhat
Farmer clears riverbank jungle
Through this column of your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the attention of the public to a commendable initiative undertaken by Ramani Nath, a social worker and noted farmer from Hindumaizali village under the Kamalpur Legislative Assembly Constituency in Kamrup district.
He has voluntarily cleared a stretch of dense, overgrown jungle beside the embankment along the Barnadi River, which flows along the boundary between Darrang and Kamrup districts. What makes this initiative particularly noteworthy is that he carried out the entire work using a JCB machine at his own expense, without waiting for government assistance. His initiative is expected to improve public access to the area and make daily movement more convenient for local residents. At a time when many public welfare activities depend on government intervention, his willingness to contribute his resources for the benefit of society deserves appreciation.
Such acts of social responsibility remind us that the development of society is not solely the responsibility of the government; individuals can also play a significant role in bringing positive changes to their communities.
I sincerely appreciate Ramani Nath’s contribution and believe that his initiative will inspire others to come forward and work for the greater welfare of society.
Heramba Nath,
Hindumaizali, Kamrup
Diwali and fire crackers
Diwali is round the corner. The discourse on firecracker use – legal or otherwise – remains centred on finding common ground among public sentiment, commercial compulsion and the collective right to clean air. It has been observed that air quality deteriorates with the onset of the festive season. Guwahati's air quality remains poor during and after the Diwali observance. A balance between faith and environmental imperatives is of utmost importance because public health can not be hostage to the sentiment of the very people. Moreover, the freedom to celebrate festivals does not confer a license on anyone to endanger the health of the citizenry. There is a need to scrutinise the effectiveness of green crackers as a viable, environmental alternative. Public awareness and voluntary restraint from bursting firecrackers are important, but they alone cannot address the problem. There is also a need for effective regulations. It must be extended to the production, storage, and distribution of fireworks. The state pollution control authorities must publish credible emission data and monitor pollution levels before and after the celebration to assess whether the measures work. Winter pollution from various sources across the state capital cannot be overlooked. Therefore, it is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to prevent sources of pollution, which is essential in the present context.
Iqbal Saikia,
Guwahati