Geographical area of Deepor Beel

Deepor beel, the State's lone Ramsar Site and a wetland of immense significance, especially for the city, is a mute testimony to the havoc that unbridled urbanization and human greed is causing on the environment.

Situated right within the city limits, the beel, once spread over an area of 41 sq km, Deepor Beel has now been reduced to a shadow of its former self, covering barely 5 sq km.

The ills plaguing Deepor are many, and need to be addressed at the earliest. Large-scale encroachment, heavy siltation from the denuded hills surrounding the beel, accumulation of all sorts of filth and toxic wastes from the Bharalu and Bahini rivers, unregulated fishing practices, invasion of aquatic weeds, industrial development within its periphery, construction of railway line along the southern boundary, quarrying within the beel ecosystem, etc., have pushed this once-pristine ecosystem to the brink.

A natural wetland, it harbours a rich variety of flora and fauna that includes nearly 200 species of birds - many of them are highly endangered. It is the only major storm water storage basin for Guwahati, which has, of late, been passing through the worst waterlogging during every monsoon. Deepor, again, is the best indicator of the environmental status of the city, and the day when birds cease to flock the beel, it will confirm the complete transformation of the once-green city into a quagmire of pollution.

Deepor offers tremendous prospects for tourism as well. Endowed with a rich avifauna and spectacular scenery with the Rani and Garbhanga hills providing the backdrop, Deepor's tourism potential still remains largely unexplored. In fact, Deepor has every chance of being developed in the lines of the celebrated Bharatpur bird sanctuary of Rajasthan.

That the State Government has been totally oblivious to the crying need for preserving such a unique biodiversity spot should be evident from the shabby treatment meted out to this premier wetland over the years.

Deepor's rich avifauna merited its elevation to bird sanctuary long ago. If anything, that could have at least put a check on the growing intrusion of humans in the beel ecosystem and minimized its degradation to a reasonable extent.

But rather than doing anything of that kind, what the authorities had done all along was to issue land pattas to many settlers within the beel precincts.

In a State where evicting encroachers even from protected areas is a dicey proposition, removing patta- holders is bound to be Herculean task involving prolonged litigations. And till date, nothing has been done to evict even the illegal occupants.

Acts like this betrays a lack of foresightedness on the part of our successive governments for whom environment has never really been a priority.

Recently, the Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) undertook a restoration drive of Deepor, aimed mainly at digging up the beel bed and enhancing its water-retaining capacity. A most laudable move no doubt, but for any long-term drive to preserve

Deepor it is imperative that human interference is brought down to an appreciable level. Equally urgent is extending protection to the green cover on the city's hills, because widespread deforestation on the hills has been a significant factor behind accumulation of huge deposits of earth and silt on the beel bed.

And finally, it is not just Deepor, but thousands of other wetlands in the State that are on the verge of dying. Assam is the country's richest State in terms of wetland with over 5,000 wetlands having a minimum area of 2.25 hectares.

All these are invaluable assets to the State - both ecologically and economically. While many of the wetlands are to be protected strictly from the environmental perspective, many others can be developed and promoted as fisheries and tourist attractions, providing gainful employment avenues to thousands.

It is time we spared a serious thought to secure the health and well-being of the wetlands, as, in the long run, our own survival is very much dependent on the environment.