Assam student drowns in Dudhnoi river; locals blame illegal sand mining

A tenth-grade student - Pulak Basumatary, lost his life in the Dudhnoi river on May 28, while bathing with friends. The incident has prompted fresh outrage over the dangers of illegal sand mining in the region.
 

The incident occurred around 11 am at Chaklapara ghat near Kharachaklapara village in Dudhnoi. Pulak, accompanied by two friends, entered the river for a bath but disappeared shortly after. His friends immediately raised an alarm, and villagers rushed to the scene to begin a frantic search while informing local authorities.
 

Dudhnoi police soon alerted the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), but before the rescue team could locate him, villagers managed to recover Pulak’s body from the river. He was declared dead at the scene.
 

Local residents allege that the student fell into a deep pit formed by illegal sand mining activities carried out using heavy machinery - hazards that have turned parts of the river into death traps. 
 

This is not the first such incident; similar fatalities, including those of a couple and another student, were reported just days earlier in the same area.