NRL's proposed bamboo project to block elephant corridor

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

Golaghat, May 25: Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Golaghat has proposed to start a bamboo project. But for this proposed bamboo project, high-rise walls have been constructed which block the tural elephant corridor. By blocking the elephant corridor, chances of man-elephant conflict have been allegedly created by the NRL authorities.

The local people of Panka Grant, where the refinery is located, have reacted sharply to this act of NRL and said that without any public hearing or discussion with the people, the NRL authority should not have decided to set up the bamboo project. The local people submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of Golaghat recently demanding to stop the proposed bamboo project. They also stated that apart from human-elephant conflict, pollution level will also rise in the whole area for this project and questions have risen regarding the permission given by the Forest Department and Pollution Control Board as the area comes under ‘No Development Zone’.

NRL had already done a similar thing a couple of months ago by blocking the elephant corridor to make a golf course for its officers. A PIL had been filed at the Gauhati High Court and now the golf course project has been stopped for the time being.