Save Dehing-Patkai

Letters to THE EDITOR

The editorial published in your daily on 21st May, 2020, for saving Dehing-Patkai reserve is a timely one. Hope it will draw the attention of the authorities concerned. When the country was in lockdown the NBWL (National Board of Wildlife) in its 56th meeting held on April 7, 2020 took the decision to hand over a portion of the reserved forest to the North Eastern Coal field of Coal India Ltd for mining. Due to the lockdown various NGOs and environmental activists have raised their protest via social media against the NBWL decision to hand over the land for extraction of coal. There cannot be a denial of the fact that there will be illegal extraction side by side the legal extraction, which will completely damage the biodiversity of the forest and the whole ecosystem will have a catastrophic consequence in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts and also the bordering Arunachal Pradesh. The mining will have a serious effect on tourism as well. The State Tourism department is trying to attract tourists. The pollution that will be created by extraction of coal will only repel tourists to the famous rainforest.

Through your esteemed daily we would like to draw the attention of the State government to apply pressure on the NBWL to rollback its decision to hand over Saleki for mining in the greater interest of the state.

Bikash Barpujari,

Beltola, Guwahati. 

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