Assam: ATASU raises alarm over alleged hill cutting near Kaziranga

A CORRESPONDENT

BOKAKHAT: Amid the ongoing controversy over the extent of Kaziranga’s Eco-Sensitive Zone, illegal hill-cutting activities are reportedly continuing in the foothill areas of the Karbi Hills adjoining Kaziranga National Park.

The All Tai Ahom Students’ Association (ATASU) has alleged that hill excavation using JCB machines is being carried out openly in the Karbi Hills near the World Heritage Site, despite restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court. The organisation also alleged that some of its members who went to inspect the excavation were threatened.

ATASU has expressed strong concern over what it described as the destruction of the Karbi Hills through illegal excavation allegedly taking place near Kaziranga under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department.

The Golaghat district committee of ATASU submitted a memorandum to the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division at Bokakhat, demanding an immediate halt to the alleged illegal hill excavation in the Karbi Hills adjoining Kaziranga National Park.

The memorandum, signed by ATASU Golaghat district president Pankaj Gogoi, working president Diganta Gogoi, and joint secretaries Ankur Konwar and Bhaskar Jyoti Phukan, stated that the organisation had recently noticed a sharp increase in alleged illegal hill excavation in the Karbi Anglong hills bordering Kaziranga National Park.

ATASU demanded that the Forest Department immediately stop the alleged hill-cutting activities. The organisation warned that failure to do so would prompt its Golaghat district committee to launch a democratic movement with the support of local residents.

The district secretary of ATASU said copies of the memorandum submitted to the Forest Division at Bokakhat had also been forwarded to the Chief Minister of Assam and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Speaking to journalists, ATASU Golaghat district assistant secretary Shankar Bora said the government should not permit hill excavation under any circumstances. He also alleged that some persons involved in excavation activities near Kaziranga had threatened ATASU workers.

Also Read: KNP’s ESZ should be redrawn, it cannot be uniform but site-specific: IUCN expert