OUR CORRESPONDENT
DOOMDOOMA: The book The Green Gold of Assam: An Environmental Perspective by Dr Manik Kar, a renowned geomorphologist and guest professor at Nagaon University, was released at Doomdooma Press Club (DPC) on Saturday.
At a solemn function presided over by DPC President Anuj Kalita and anchored by Vice-President Abhijit Khataniar, Uddhab Sarmah, former Executive Director of Warren Tea Limited (WTL) and a tea specialist, formally released the book.
Published by EBH Publishers, Guwahati, the book focuses on the ecological and environmental aspects of Assam's iconic tea industry, often referred to as the "green gold".
The book explores the complex relationship between commercial tea cultivation, local land use, soil-climate dynamics and the broader environmental ecosystem of the Brahmaputra Valley.
Speaking on the occasion, Uddhab Sarmah highlighted the adverse effects of the unchecked expansion of tea plantations on Assam's ecology during British rule. He further said that, in recent years, the profit-driven approach of Indian tea planters and the lack of expertise among small tea growers had led to the excessive use of chemical fertilisers, adversely affecting the health of tea bushes. As a result, several bird varieties and valuable tree species that once thrived in Assam's rich forest cover are now rarely seen, he said.
In his address, Dr Kar made a PowerPoint presentation on earthquakes, floods, and erosion caused by the mighty Brahmaputra, which once served as a major source of livelihood for Assam's rural population. He pointed out that several river bridges in Assam had been constructed without adequate morphological studies of the rivers. He said that proper morphological studies of a river require a minimum period of 30 years.
The meeting was also addressed by senior journalist Amulya Khataniar and Dhiren Deka.
At the beginning of the programme, DPC Vice-President Abhijit Khataniar read out a brief introduction to Dr Kar, who originally hails from Doomdooma.
In his presidential address, Anuj Kalita announced that DPC would soon organise a seminar on the flood and erosion problems of Assam for college students and researchers working on the subject.
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