Protecting Bogamati through sensitivity

Prakreetish Sarma

(Advocate, Gauhati High Court. Email id- prakreetish.sarma@gmail.com)

Bogamati is a beautiful landscape nestled in between the Indo-Bhutan border in Baksa District. It is known for its white sand and the Barnadi River that flows down from the hills of Bhutan. It is a perfect getaway for nature lovers as well as for picnickers. To add icing to the cake, the area is blessed with a beautiful Buddha Temple and a forest that has a rich variety of flora and fauna and also wild elephants. The tourists who visit the place also enjoy trekking, rafting etc. Apart from being a thing of beauty (John Keats's lines), it was also a bastion of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) who had its base camps in the said area and also its periphery. After years of a tussle between the Armed forces and the militant organizations finally, the place became safe and turned out to be a picnic hotspot, especially during the winter months.

However, as human beings are best known for the anthropocentric acts that are misused for one's own benefit, Bogamati is facing a similar fate, as the menace of the picnic is very much evident with the place. Last year, an untoward incident also occurred when recently a boat carrying about 50 passengers flipped. The boat was overloaded. It is said that around 1 lakh people assembled that day.

Ever since the corona pandemic broke out, there has been a mandatory corona test for inter-state travel, so probably; the loyal Meghalaya tourist must have turned their gears towards this paradise. Hence, this is where the problem or menace had started, although tourists visiting the place is a positive sign, especially for the local people who were hit hard economically due to corona. And the local products, small restaurants do find a new lease of life in this season.

Perhaps, amidst the entire fun and frolic somewhere down the line, the environmental balance of the said area goes for a toss/ or has to undergo degradation. Construction activity is going on in the area. It has already created a lot of dust. As if to make matters worse, since the onset of winter people have been thronging the place for picnics. They have littered the place to the optimum. There is no harm in visiting the place and enjoying its serenity, but when that very activity disrupts the ecology of the area it needs something tangible to arrest the menace.

The area also hosts wild elephants who get irritated with such kind of noise pollution. The cases of Man-Elephant conflict is prominent there just like in other parts of Assam as the road leading up to Bogamati has electric wires to protect the locals. But such kind of nuisance, especially the loudspeakers, honking of vehicles etc., has proved to be a nuisance for the entire biodiversity. The littering of the area and the river body which ultimately joins the adjoining tributaries and villages is ultimately going to have long-term adverse effects.

The entire stretch has seen a lot of development, especially with the construction of a bridge over the Suklai River and a lot of credit goes to the present government (NDA-BJP) for that, but now the government along with the local representation such as NGOs, Gaon Burah's should chalk out plans to promote sustainable tourism, for example, introducing pass system on a priority basis to avoid the excessive rush, impose fines for pollution of any form, for littering the area and the water body etc.

Moreover, the consciousness should come from within as we have already destroyed a number of serene places all across such as Hatisila, Tegheria etc. Hence it is high time we realized the gravity of the situation. Bogamati has the potential to boost Assam tourism that was injured for years due to problems such as militancy and poor connectivity. The road conditions have improved manifold and now there are places such as tree houses (eco-resorts).

Therefore, we should try and preserve the beauty of the place by not destroying it through small efforts. Just like Kaziranga National Park, this area also has the potential to become the next biggest tourist attraction in Assam. The Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary had made news last year over the loss of biodiversity also requires immediate attention. There is a chance that if everything goes well even this part of Assam will also reap the benefits from tourism.