Renewed Disquiet Surrounding ‘Dora Beel’ A Heritage Wetland Of Kamrup District

Dora beel is a vast wetland situated at Kamrup district, whose circumference touches over eight villages, providing means of livelihood to thousands and housing a glorious biodiversity. Touching the Kulsi River, the Beel (which means a natural lake in Assamese) is unique in many senses. The Kulsi acts as the main inlet and outlet for the Beel. 

Prasanna Kalita is one amongst the thousands of native villagers around Dora Beel. Mr Kalita revealed a stunning aspect of the beel while speaking  to Pratidin Time—“The meeting point of river Kulsi with Dora beel  also acts as the place for breeding of the river dolphins. During monsoon, the river dolphins even come to the beel, which has been witnessed by many of us.” Kalita is an active member of Bonyobondhu, a collective that works for conservation of nature and ecology.

Notably, Kulsi river is a habitat of South Asian River Dolphins, which turned to be an endangered species. The breeding ground of this endangered species is ought to gather attention for the delicate ecological role it plays.

Notification That Sparks Unease

However, a latest notification served by the Kamrup district authority has raised eyebrows of the native villagers around Dora Beel.

Signed by the district commissioner, Kamrup, the notification was published on 24th March stating that 150 bighas of land of the VGR (Village Grazing Reserve) of Rampur 1 and Rampur 2 villages are proposed to be ‘unreserved’. The notification also says that the unreserved land will be allocated to a company named M/S new Kolkata International Development Pvt. Ltd. It has also asked to register any complaint of the government proposal within a month from the date of circulation of the notice. 

The disquiet amongst the villagers is also related to the uniqueness of the beel. Explaining it, Kalita said—“The VGR is inseparable from the wetland. The grassland is an intricate ecological system linked to Dora beel. It is only during the dry spell of the year that the grassland (VGR) appears as it remains under water during the monsoon, providing breeding space for a variety of fishes and aquatic species. As the water goes down, the grassland reappears with full valour nurtured by the sediment deposited by the water.” Moreover, the VGR is the main source for the livestock during the dry spell and the villagers rely heavily on it. 

Going by what Kalita narrated it becomes clear that to build something concrete, the VGR land will have to be earthfilled to a level above that of water during monsoon. “This may affect the near villages by inundating them as water logging will become imminent. Moreover, ”—Kalita said.

It’s worth mentioning that earth filling done in unscientific way in and around natural wetlands have caused widespread concern as this act has severely hampered natural water dispensing system causing water logging in several places.

Subrat Talukdar, convenor of the Bhumi Adhikar Joutha Sangram Samiti, said to Pratidin Time—“It is very unfortunate that the VGR land is proposed to be unreserved for the benefit of some Kolkata based company. Selling the land to the company at a rate of Rs 1 per bigha is the most pernicious act. This will push the entire lake ecosystem into dire crisis. Everyone has to oppose it to save the heritage beel of Dakhin Kamrup.”

Prasanna Kalita added that Bonyobondhu will keep opposing the proposal and it will urge the people to raise their voice and register it with the district authority. “Till now we have the opportunity to raise objection as provided by the authority in its notification. We will raise awareness amongst people. However, the time period is really obsolete as it is bihu time”—he added.  

What Happened in 2001?

In 2001, similar proposal came in where land at the bank of the beel was allocated for a wine factory, Kalita apprised. “The villagers protested then and it was stopped and the beel was saved”—he added. However, construction in those areas are now in full swing  by some unknown companies, Kalita added.

He also lauded the role played by then environment minister Jairam Ramesh who listened to the concerns raised by the villagers and went ahead with fulfilling their demand. “In addition, Akhil Gogoi also came here back then and helped in intensifying the movement”—Kalita said.