The residents of Deepor Beel came out to highlight the dangers that would be posed against the wildlife in the area by the proposed construction of the double-line railway track which would pass through the water body and the elephant corridors near the Rani forest.
Addressing the media, Pramod Kalita, a resident of the area, pointed out that the proposed railway track would pass through four elephant crossings in the area and the Railways have proposed to construct a tunnel in only one of the crossings leaving the other three exposed. “The Railways have identified four elephant corridors, but they have proposed to build a tunnel in only one such crossing leaving the rest open. That would be dangerous for the elephants since there will be two railway lines,” said Kalita.
“The government should take steps to ensure safe passage of the animals on all the four elephant corridors or else we will start a protest against the construction of the new tracks. They are going to construct the new tracks without undertaking any proper study. Even the ecology of the Rani forest will be hampered.
Ever since the old railway line began operating, 14 elephants have died after getting hit by trains passing through those crossings. We are thinking of going to the National Green Tribunal in regard to the issue,” Kalita further informed.
The residents further highlighted the continuous contamination of water in Deepor Beel because of the Boragaon dumping ground. “The Dump yard has destroyed the eco system of the beel. Continuous contamination of the water because of the waste and industrial pollution has been responsible for death of many marine lives. Earlier, in a survey carried out by the government when they declared Deepor Beel as a Ramsar Site, 230 different species of birds were identified and when they conducted a survey recently it was revealed that only 63 species were left,” said Kalita.