Environment / Assam

GUWAHATI, Jan 20 — Despite an order by the Gauhati High Court and declaration of the Borsola Beel and Sarusola Beel, the natural reservoir for storm water drainage of Guwahati city, as reserved wetlands, the concerned authorities have so far failed to evict the encroachers on to prevent fresh encroachments on the wetlands. The inaction of the authorities concerned may aggravate the water-logging problem in the central Guwahati areas in the coming rainy season. Not to speak of evicting the encroachers from the Sarusola Beel area, the authorities concerned have even failed to prevent fresh earth...

GUWAHATI, Jan 19 – Participants of a seminar on man and elephant conflict in North East India, organised by the Co-ordinating Organisation of the Non-Governmental Organisations involved in Conservation of Forest, Wildlife and Environment (CONGOFORM) at the Pensioners’ Bhawan auditorium here today, called for a strong political will on the part of the State Governments of the region to protect the pachyderm. “These animals constitute a part of our heritage, they should be protected”, the participants observed. The participants also expressed their unambiguous agreement with the 10-point...

NEW DELHI, Jan 17 — In what could go a long way in better flood management in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, China has agreed to share information on a real-time basis. The information on flow of water in Brahmaputra would be provided to India twice daily. Describing the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs with China on flood fore casting as a big step, the Union Ministers of State for Water Resources, Bijoya Chakraborty said that it would have direct impact in Assam and its neighbouring States. According to the terms of the MoU, the China would be providing India with real-time...

HAFLONG, Jan 8 – Following wanton killing of wildlife in NC Hills the rare varieties of wildlife are on the verge of extinction. It was said, in the past, the district of NC Hills was the natural habitat of a large number of wild animals. Different fauna like, tiger, leopard, elephant, barking deer, screw hollock, gibbons, black bear, wild dogs, wild buffalo, mithun etc. were the main inhabitants of the hill eco-system. Large varieties of birds, snakes, tortoise and other reptiles etc. too, enrich the hill biodiversities. Keeping these in view, development of Hajong lake for tortoise sanctuary...

GUWAHATI, Jan 6 — Looking back at the year that has just passed we find that a non-fictional book on the mighty Brahmaputra river by internationally acclaimed writer Sri Arup Kumar Dutta created ripples in the literary circles of not only in our State but the entire country. Published by the reputed National book Trust of India under its India – The Land and the People series, the book was released by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at a function in Delhi on September 13 last year. Known for his works based on meticulous research and documentation, Arup Dutta’s books which include the...

JORHAT, April 20: The influence of the Brahmaputra on the Kaziranga National Park is all-pervading. Apart from inundating the park during the monsoon, the river spells misery for wildlife by spewing loads of sand during the dry season. Siltation due to recurrence of floods has made the ecologically-sensitive beels (natural water reserves) inside the park shallow. This has threatened big animals like elephants and rhinos, who often wallow in the beels, especially to cool off in summer. The beels are also the main source of drinking water for the animals. "Siltation from the Brahmaputra is...

GUWAHATI, April 10: The spread of grassland in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) is under threat from an invading weed called Mimosa which has bloomed over 120 hectares areas inside the national park at the cost of the green grass, life to hundreds of herbivorous park inmates. The Assistant Conservator of Forest in the National Park, Utpol Bora today informed that the concentration of the unwanted wild herb is more in Kaziranga and Bagori ranges of the Park, than in other parts. However, it is threatening to cover all parts of the Park in near future. When Mimosa grows on a particular area, it...

GUWAHATI, April 7: The 100-year old Digboi Refinery is in the eye of the storm for its alleged failure to conform to pollution control norms. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest and particularly the Central Pollution Control Board, has reportedly taken a firm stand to compel the Refinery authorities to improve its Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) or to face the consequences. This stand of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests came in the wake of reports that a major incident of fire in the Lakhipathar Reserve Forest and its adjacent areas triggered by the escape of oily...

GUWAHATI, April 6: Eminent scientist, Jagadish Bahadur has predicted more floods in Assam and its adjoining States due to depletion of Himalayan forest cover. Talking to The Assam Tribune here today, Bahadur said that the Northeast would be experiencing 10 to 30 per cent more rainfall in coming years and temperature would go up to one to three per cent in view of degrading forest coverage in the Himalayan region. Bahadur, project investigator of Himalayan environment further said that flora and fauna of the Northeast are facing severe threats due to increase in temperature and, hence a...

AMTERENG, April 5: The much-delayed Karbi Langpi Hydro Electric Project (KLHEP) of the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) at Hatidubi here on the lower Borpani river, about 120 kilometre away from Guwahati, seems to be moving towards completion after more than two decades when work began on the project with a Rs 125 crore loan from the Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFCL). Conceived in 1979 as a 'prestigious project' for the ASEB at an initial estimated cost of Rs 36.36 crore for producing 100 MW of power from two units, the projects cost has now escalated to a whopping Rs 251 crore...