DIBRUGARH, May 21 - The National Student Union of India (NSUI), Dibrugarh has urged upon Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to protect Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary from coal mining as it is directly related to the environment and natural resources of Assam.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, the student body affiliated to the Indian National Congress (INC), has asked the State government to ensure that the wildlife sanctuary remains an Asiatic biodiversity hotspot and elephant reserve forever. When the entire globe is grappling with the problem of climate change, the Chief Minister could emerge as the champion for preserving ecological balance and win the hearts of people of Assam once again, the student body wrote.
NSUI has said that allowing coal mining inside the Dehing Patkai forest will not only destroy its biodiversity but also cause harm to the ecological balance, which will lead to pollution, flood and erosion in the near future. The area is very rich in biodiversity besides having various rare species of birds, butterflies, fish, animals, water bodies etc.
The student body fears that National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) permission to Coal India Limited to carry out extraction in 98.59 hectares of the rainforest�s land will completely destroy Dehing Patkai and, therefore, it has sought the intervention of the Chief Minister at the earliest.
