GUWAHATI
The Gauhati High Court has suggested some relief and beautification measures to save a Ramsar site on the western edge of Guwahati from extensive damage due to urban pollution.
Hearing a petition by a trio of environment activists who are also farmers, the court prescribed 12 possible solutions to bailing Deepor Beel out of an ecological mess.
Deepor Beel, an elephant haunt, is a 40.14 sq. km lake with a maximum depth of 4 metres. An area of 4.1 sq. km of the lake was declared as a wildlife sanctuary by the Assam government in 1989, more than the wetland was designated a Ramsar Site under the Ramsar Convention.
The petitioners — Pramod Kalita, Sonesh Teron, and Dipak Terang — are residents of two of the 12 villages on the periphery of the lake.
One of the key suggestions by the court was the setting up of sewerage treatment plants at all the channels flowing from the city to the wetland to minimise the discharge of harmful chemicals or pollutants. No solid waste dumping should be allowed in and around the lake, the court said.
An organisation called the Deepor Beel Suraksha Mancha has been pushing the local authorities to shift Guwahati’s garbage dump at Boragaon on the edge of the wetland. A decision to shift the dumping site has not been implemented yet.
Railway line
The court observed that Deepor Beel has also been in focus because of the construction of a railway line along its northern boundary. The issue was taken up by the National Green Tribunal and various directions passed are in the process of compliance, it said.
“The State government has, through its affidavits, expressed its desire and intent to ensure that the water body is protected, beautified and its status enhanced by all means while adhering to the requirements of the Wetland Protection Act, 1972,” the court said.
It recommended the construction of a promenade, cycling and walking tracks on the periphery of the lake for beautification, attracting sporting events, and checking the possibilities of encroachment. The court also said the State government should consider systematic and planned removal of water hyacinth from the lake for use in the handicraft industry.
Among the court’s other suggestions was curtailing or regulating commercial fishing activities in the lake.
