GUWAHATI, June 28 – The Committee on Environmental Implications associated with the BG railway alignment through the Deepar Beel area, recommended that the existing natural passes of wild animals, including the elephants, should be protected. If it is deemed necessary, the recommendations said that additional high passes might be provided for the purpose. The Committee constituted by the State Government to examine the matter had submitted its report in July 1990.
One of the observations of the Committee was that the railway tract would cause some amount of disturbance to the wildlife in the area including the water birds. Besides, it observed that there were ‘two corridors’ on the hill slopes through which elephants from the Rani Reserve Forest reportedly descend occasionally to the Beel. “Unless these natural corridors are protected, the movement of the elephants may be impeded,” it said.
But, the incident of killing three elephants, including two calves, by a goods train in the Deepar Beel area on June 20, revealed that there was sheer lack of will in honouring the above observation and implementing the respective recommendation. It needs mention that the Railways bid to lay the BG railway line through the Deepar Beel had provoked vigorous protests from the environment groups and individuals. The protest made by these organisations and the individuals was based on the apprehension that the railway line would cause damage to the Deepar Beel ecosystem between Azara and Kamakhya.
Though the initial proposal was to construct the BG line through the Beel, later the proposal was modified in favour of an alignment through the northern fringe of the Beel. This was also objected to specially by the students of the Assam Engineering College on the ground that the BG line would disturb the academic atmosphere in the Engineering College, the Assam Ayurvedic College, Gauhati University and the Government Sanskrit College.
Faced with such a situation, the State Government had to form the Committee on May 10, 1990, (Notification No TRY 4/87/179) with Dr Anil Kumar Goswami, the then Member-Secretary of the Assam State Advisory Committee on Science and Technology as its chairman. The Committee, considered three alternatives for laying the railway line in the area. The first one was on the northern side of Gauhati University campus by the bank of the Brahmaputra. The second one was on the northern side of the Deepar Beel by the Assam Engineering College and third one was on the northern side of the Rani reserve Forest.
In its report the Committee said that the first alternative of laying the BG line by the southern bank of the Brahmaputra did not merit serious consideration. Reasoning, it said that such an alignment had the possibility of evicting old settled villages like Garigaon and Sadilapur, and to cause extensive damage to the productive agricultural land. It has also an adverse geological condition and the hazards of erosion and flood, it said. The second alternative would have interfered with the Khananadi and the Kulsi escape channel. Besides it would have also restrict the movement of the runoff from the western, northern and northeastern sides including the Jalukbari hills.
Gotanagar and Maligaon which used to enter the Beel through its shallower northern section. “Since the BG line will pass through a part of the Beel on the northern side, the integrity of the environment and balance of ecosystem will be affected,” it said. It also added that the alignment would destroy the ‘prevailing peace and tranquility of the area’ where premier educational institutions like the Assam Engineering College, Gauhati University etc were located. Further, it said that this alignment would reduce further the storm water storage capacity of the Beel, as, the BG line would pass in almost its entire length, through the northern part of the water body. Besides, it will affect several settled villages in Azara, Dharapur, Khanamukh and Pachim Jalukbari.
But, the alignment on the southern side of the Beel, through the northern fringe of the Rani-Garbhanga Reserve Forest would practically have no direct physical interaction with the water spread area of the Beel in most of the parts, the Committee said. The environment groups had no alternative but to accept the recommendations of the Committee for laying the line on the southern side of the Beel, although their apprehensions remained to be allayed. The forces of development were mounting pressure on them. Development has now started taking its toll in the area in the same cruel manner it has been doing in other parts of the globe!