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Allegation against notified quarry evokes concern

By ANN Service

JONAI, March 10 - Members of Save Poba Rain Forest, a local NGO, have alleged that the Forest department was running an illegal quarry at Leku river under Jonai Forest range. The allegation has evoked massive reaction from the local villagers as well as Forest department officials here.

The NGO members, in a complaint submitted to Chief Minister of Assam, stated that mining activities on the river bed near Poba RF would cause erosion of forest land and affect the forest biodiversity. It further alleged that Divisional Forest Officer (T) of Dhemaji has given permission to local traders for conducting rude excavation on the river bed, which they termed �not suitable location� for conducting such activities.

But, the local villagers in a counter statement cleared that they were taking up a �channel cutting� work at Leku river on voluntary basis to divert the river course. The villagers, who took guidance from Water Resource engineers, are executing the channel cutting work to get rid of erosion posed by Leku river on their side.

�We have taken up the effort after taking decision in a public meeting and due support of the local villagers. We are conducting the activities inside government notified quarry and there is no question of forest land destruction here,� said Leku Gaon Burah, Gyansing Doley and Leku Village Development Committee chairman, Dalim Payeng.

The local villagers are infuriated over the fact that some NGO leaders made a set of false propaganda against the government notified quarry maligning Forest officials of unholy nexus with the traders. According to them, the so called NGO leaders are disturbing the mining activities with mala fide intentions and trying to malign the Forest officials with illegal activities, without knowing the facts.

The Divisional Forest Officer of Dhemaji has cleared that Forest department has already notified one hectare area at Leku river as �Sand-Gravel� quarry under Rule-52 (1) of the Assam Minor Mineral Concession Rules-2013. As such, the department has granted permission for mining activities within the notified quarry with due official procedures thereby collecting good chunk of revenue to the State exchequer.

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