> Development > Ecology and forest
Rivers have its own geography. And each rivers have its own beauty, opulence, calamity and a lot of shavered history. A river can tolerate everything and at the same time it can give away all. Which is why a river never flows alone. When a river flows, it creates brotherhood, benevolence along the way and shares a promise of not ceasing to exist and keep flowing incessantly. Siang, Dibang and Lohit- these three Rivers have furnished the geography of Assam and Arunachal in an astounding way. Converging with Brahmaputra in Parashuram Kunda, these three Rivers have fabricated an astounding beauty. And Dibru Saikhowa is thy name of that beauty, which is known today as Dibru Chaikhowa Biosphere Reserve. It is to be noted here that the reserve sanctuary has turned into an island after the upheaval of 1950 earthquake. Dibru Saikhowa comprises a total of 340 square kilometres, scattering through the districts of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh.
Like each river, every forest also has its own seasons and it's switching beauty, shades, shadow, luminescence. Considering Dibru Chaikhowa as his own home, Nirantar Gohain let us know that monsoon is the best season to enter into the wilderness of the sanctuary. But in view of the security of the tourists, they usually open their eco-camps during summer only.
While talking to Nirantar Gohain, who begun with slender support but still consciously not aiming to harm the environment surrounding the eco-camps, it raised many questions regarding ecological conservation and it's recognition. Nirantar Gohain was very clear that he is not impressed or inspired by the western idea of ecological conservation. He even never thought of taking up ecological conservation as a means of making out his career. Once upon a time, Dibru Chaikhowa was a source of generating some income for daily wage earners like him. Getting a sum of two hundred rupees for cutting trees or collecting bird's eggs, Nirantar Gohain did let us know how he got a thousand rupees for the first time just for showing the tourists the birds of Maguri swamp.
It is to be noted here that Maguri Matapung swamp is a vessel of Dibru Chaikhowa which is a resting home of diverse local and global birds. Located in the south of Dibru Chaikhowa, Maguri Matapung swamp is a wandering quarter for a lot more than 110 variants of varying birds. The foremost reason for this Dibru Chaikhowa being interior to the two main pathways for birds- the Central Asian Flyway and the Asian Australian Flyway. It is said that Matapung is named after the Adis sacrificed male buffalows here as long back as in 17th century.
This made Gohain realise that getting a thousand rupees for showing the tourists some birds and the forest is far more valuable than getting two hundred rupees for cutting trees. It at the same time provided a fresh understanding to youths like Gohain regarding the value of the forest and the swamp. In other words, it was a rare sense of excitement, a rupture- which slowly broadened its wings to many and eventually it got metamorphosed into a collective responsibility, whose identity in turn became synonymous with ecological conservation, ecological activists, guide or environment organizers. This exertion then became the noiseless and prolonged battle for many.
No forest is limited to nor it ends with trees, jungles and it's wildlife. Where a forest is considered to be ended, from there begins the story of the "fringe villages" or the frontier villages. The people who live in these frontier villages, they usually live with limited access and limited advantages. Neither much scarcity nor much luxury. Generation after generation live by their dependence on the forest. Due to the accessibility of water and advantage of transportation, places that are nearby rivers become their fundamental source of life and livelihood. One such village of Dibru Saikhowa is Arasuti. The name itself signifies that it is a village born after the river left out as meadow. The villagers are mostly Hindu Bengalis.
For some, they migrated to this place during partition. And some say that they came as a result of political patronage after the state of Assam was created. The history of river erosion is as delicate as the history of partition of nations. Passing through rumours and winds of political language, this history has become very fragile.
Rivers don't have any determined country or territory. The riverbank villages thence usually forget the presence of a core, a central national existence. For the people of these villages, river is their motherland and river their government. River makes rules for them and it's this river which they make use of. And their pitiful eyes once again bring back the question of ecological conservation. The defined zone or territory of a national sanctuary doesn't take into account the human settlements. Still, some people are left in its surroundings, in its periphery. The families of people who are unable to afford their house rent in Tinsukia town or the families of people who are unable to make a living by distancing themselves from the river and the forest.
Laika-Dadhia is one such amalgamation of such families. Most of the Tribal belt and block of Assam is formed according to the Assam Land and Revenue act of 1886. The villages of Laika-Dadhia came into being during the middle periods of 1950. At that time there was no prohibition from forest department, nor was there any issue of re-settlelment. Because till then the concern regarding national sanctuary was not in the scene. Dilapidation of the Revenue department, negligence of the Forest department and Operation Bajrang of the 90s- Dibru Saikhowa became an easy way out for this all.
Amidst all these, many a flood flowed through the hearts of Lohit, Dibang and Siang. Many a villages drowned, many a tourist birds came and went by. So the meaning of Protected Area or Eco Sensitive Zone also became more and more complex for the tribal people without access to formal education. Even though Dibru Saikhowa was recognised as a national park in 1999, Laika-Dadhia was a settlement of the Mishing people since the time of the British rule. It therefore raises a very fundamental and a serious question that - the frontline tribals of Assam who have to endure river and forests erosion occasionally, have they become victims of the politics of ecological conservation?
Parallel to this, Dibru Saikhowa at the same time is shaken by man-made disasters like that of Baghjan. A blazing fire which continuously burnt for 159 days, it's unending fumes and the shimmering oil- not only brought serious threat to the people living nearby, it also unleashed a deadly threat to the whole ecology of the region. Its effect is straightforwardly seen on the Matapung swamp which is no far than 3 kilometres from Baghjan.
The local residents of Baghjan has pointed out that the quantity of fish has significantly diminished in the swamp and drinking water still glitters with oil. Adding to it, the tea leaves which got burned down to ashes and the empty betel nut trees signify nothing there but it brings into light the dreaded ecological devastation of the region. In between eviction and politics of conservation those who have received short-term reliefs from Oil companies after losing their local livelihood, what is more important to them- security of their own lives or ecological consequences and recognition? There is no doubt that as the time comes closer to answer this question, the responsibility of younger generations concerning ecology is also on the rise. Similarly, it's also about time to understand the fact that it's not easy to liberate the ecology from the petty political interest and there is still miles to go before ecological concerns become the concern of the public discourse.
Photographs by the author.
Navigations 
Quick Contact
Subscribe Us
Quick Mail
