Locals Protest Against 2nd Railway Track Through 'Deepor Beel'

Guwahati, June 12, 2019:

Assam's only Ramsar site 'Deepor Beel' is under serious threat for numerous reasons. The railway track that runs through it has turned into one of the major environmental issues. The proposal for the second railway track through the elephant corridor on the southern side of the 'Deepor Beel' has been decried by locals.

Following this, there has been a situation of unrest among the people in the Mikirpara- Charkardo area. Along with them, the locals under the Chakardo- Kalitapara Developmentb Committee have submitted a memorandum to West Guwahati MLA Ramendra Narayan Kalita, citing the issue. Apart from that, the committee has also approached the MLA to transfer the existing railway track to some other site.

The president of the Committee, Balen Kalita and general secretary Pramod Kalita informed that from 1991 till now, 14 elephants, along with numerous other wild animals, have been killed so far by speeding trains. They further asserted that the state government in 1989 announced it as a “Bird Sanctuary” and 20 years later in 2009, it re-announced the 'Beel' to be a “Wildlife Sanctuary”.

However, of late, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) after carrying out a survey, sanctioned the railway track in the Ramsar site area. This has posed a serious threat to the wild animals living in the area.

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