Assam: Ramsar site in Distress ( elephants mourn death of calf )

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

I have just come back from 'Deepor Beel' a wetland recognised as a

Ramsar site adjoining Guwahati city in Assam.

Today was my second visit in last three days. A herd of thirteen

Elephants which had come down from the adjacent Rani reserve forest

is camping in the beel for the past 22 days.

They have lost a calf which got trapped in the marshy land, and

perhaps are mourning its death very close to the carcass. This

wetland provides a range of aquatic plants and grass which the

elephants love consuming, I believe the shrink of food for elephants

on land is also perhaps one of the reasons that the elephants are

refusing to leave the wetland and are creating a sort of record stay

as per the local people.

A local tribal wildlife enthusiast, Lakhan Teron who has been

observing the elephants from the day they came down, says that some

young elephants in that herd seemed to be very weak, perhaps they

need proper nutrituion which they cannot get from consuming only

aqatic plants, and it is not a healthy sign for the youngs ones to

stay 24X7 in water for so many days. This message has been passed on

to the forest department so that they can make arrangements to ferry

food to the elephant herd.

 

Also this deepor beel which is a protected site is now being used as

a solid waste dumping ground by the municipal authorities. Water is

slowly getting poisoned. Greed of land is drawing in real estate

builders encroaching more and more areas of this wetland....there

are so many problems for this poor site. The stench from the soild

waste dump is creating a bad air all throughout the wetland.

 

The trains on railway track that runs right through the wetland are

allowed to pass at a restricted speed of only 25kmph when they cross

the Deepor beel but most drivers simply ignore the speed

restrictions, I saw many passenger and goods trains exceeding about

50kmph speed.

 

Boatmen are free to access each and every inch of the Deepor Beel to

fish. They inturn damage extensively the aquatic plans and their

leaves which I feel is of serious concern.

 

Massive stone quarrying adjacent to the deepor beel have resulted in

the forest cover being diminished making way for hamlets of

labourers who are engaged in stone quarrying, hill cutting and road

construction activities there.

 

It is actually outrageous how the governments willingly kill such

national treasures falling easy prey to the land mafia.

 

So far it has been it has been 22 days since the elephants are in

the wetland and a forest range officer has visited the spot just

once.

 

I would like to her from someone who can be of some assistance in

getting this SOS to the Ramsar Convention Secretariat in Switzerland

so that some pressure can be put on the Indian Government.

I have also written to them but got no response so far.

 

I have pictures and can mail them if asked for.

 

Azam Siddiqui.