Environment / Assam

Guwahati, March 6: The Assam government has prepared a “bamboo mission” with the twin objective of augmenting additional revenue and recovering the state’s dwindling forest cover.

The government has identified various hybrid species of fast-growing bamboo to be planted in degraded areas in the state, minister of state for forest Pradyut Bordoloi told newspersons here today. The mission envisages bringing 6,000 hectares of land under bamboo plantation during 2003-06.

For the purpose, the government has taken up the matter with Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC) and the National Bank for...

Jatinga village (N.C. Hills), March 4: The view of sunrise from the Hempeopet peak, they say, is better than the morning spectacle from Tiger Hill in Darjeeling.

Situated at an altitude of 6,000 feet above sea level, the peak will now form the backdrop of an exotic trail for adventure lovers as the North Cachar Hills district administration is planning to throw open a path for trekking in the Borail range. The picturesque Jatinga hamlet, which lies at a distance of 10 km from Haflong, is internationally famous as the home of the kamikaze birds. It is now poised to be a tourist destination...

NEW DELHI, March 3 : The Assam Government has undertaken 51 flood control and anti-erosion schemes for river Brahmaputra during the eight years (1995-2003). The projects are in addition to two major Central sector projects taken up by Brahmaputra Board, Union Minister of State for Water Resource Bijoya Chakravarty disclosed in a written reply in Lok Sabha. The Central sector projects included the Pagladiya Dam Project estimated to cost over Rs 542 crore and the avulsion of Brahmaputra at Dholla Hatighuli, which is a measure for diversion of river to its original course with ancillary anti...

NEW DELHI, Feb 27 – Uncertainty over the 2000 MW Subansiri (Lower) hydro-electricity project may be finally over with the project likely to get the all-important Cabinet Committee on Economic Affair (CCEA) clearance by next month-end. The project – part of the Prime Minister’s economic package – has been hanging in limbo for past few years caught in bureaucratic wrangles in Delhi and problems with environmental groups back in Arunachal Pradesh. But that is over with the Central government already deciding to do away with the pre-Public Investment Board (pre-PIB) clearance. The project...

DIBRUGARH, Feb 25 — Minister of State for Forests, Pradyut Bordoloi came in for praise from the main protagonist of the proposed Joydehing wildlife sanctuary, Nature’s Beckon. The minister told The Assam Tribune last Thursday that his department is actively working on notifying the proposed sanctuary, “though the name may not be Joydehing.”

Reacting to the minister’s views, Nature’s Beckon’s director Soumyadeep Datta said, “the matter should not hover around the name, all we want is permanent protection of the virgin rainforest and its rich wildlife by declaring it a sanctuary.” He, however...

JORHAT, Feb 23 — As a follow-up to the just-concluded first-ever Jorhat Bird Festival, a series of long-term measures to generate awareness, ensure security and facilitate proper roosting places for the migratory winged denizens was initiated in the district recently so as to make the overall environment avian-friendly.

The idea which was conceived by the Jorhat area MP Bijoy Krishna Handique, subsequently roped in NGOs like Prakriti, Keteki and Sewa to mobilise masses living in and around migratory bird habitats at Neamati, Kokilamukh, Jhanjimukh and Majuli, besides generating awareness on...

GUWAHATI, Feb 22 – At a time when rapidly shrinking forest cover is exposing the State’s biodiversity to the gravest possible danger, a move to construct a PWD road through Amchang reserve forest in the outskirts of the city has evoked vehement opposition from the Forest Department and environmentalists who fear it will create serious disturbance to the fragile eco-system of the area. The PWD (Road) Guwahati Division, NEC, on February 10 sought permission from the Forest Department to conduct a survey from Panjabari-Batahghuli to the NH-37 via Patarkuchi.

The proposed survey runs through the...

Guwahati, Feb. 21: A metal ring with the inscription “Hiddensee Germania EA096970” has opened a new window for ornithologists of the Northeast studying the migratory route of the large Indian kite.

For two years, birdwatchers in Assam and Manipur have been trying to find out the migratory route of the avian species — also known as the black-eared kite of the Milvius Lineatus (gray).

When a kite wearing the ring with the words “Hiddensee Germania EA096970” landed in Manipur in October 2001, it had avian experts of the region hunting for the place of its origin.

The breakthrough came from a...

DIBRUGARH, Feb 20 — It is a grim situation. The man-elephant conflict in the State remains unresolved, and at the end of it, all are suffering: humans, elephants and the eco-system. Unofficial figures point to an annual human toll of 40, and on the wildlife side, it is estimated that 65 elephants have fallen to poachers’ bullets in the last three years. The crop damage caused by elephant depredation is yet to be officially quantified. It is known fact that dwindling forest cover and a rapid decrease in the quantum of available fodder for the pachyderm has forced the mammal to venture into...

GUWAHATI, Feb 20 — Dilly-dally by the State Forest Department in allotting the required 285 hectare shallow water sandbank (riverbed shoal) to the National Hydro-Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) to facilitate commencement of construction of 2000-MW Subansiri Lower Basin Hydroelectric Power Project has raised many a eye-brows in authorities concerned.

Peeved at the delay on part of the State Forest Department to allot the riverbed shoal, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has set March 15, 2003 deadline for issuing clearance for allotment of the riverbed portion to NHPC which...