City residents protest translocation of trees
Guwahati: Civil society activists and concerned citizens on Sunday gathered to voice their objection against the govt's recent translocation of trees from the Ambari area, undertaken for an upcoming flyover project valued at over Rs 800 crore and spanning from Noonmati to Ambari.
Residents claim the govt has not only disregarded public sentiment and environmental responsibility, but has also gone back on their earlier commitments made to the Gauhati high court in affidavits. Noted littérateur Hiren Gohain, present at the protest, criticised the govt, questioning both the unscientific methods employed and the overall rationale and feasibility of the flyover project.
Prominent scientist and writer Dinesh Chandra Goswami said, "Tree translocation must be carried out with utmost care, but in this case, the govt has displayed a reckless disregard for both the trees and its citizens.
The conditions in which the trees are kept in is truly saddening, and this reduces their chance of survivability."
Social scientist Apurba Kumar Baruah and historian Manorama Sharma cited studies from Dehradun's Forest Research Institute (FRI), indicating that tree translocation in India has a low survival rate of approximately 10%.
Figures from Global Forest Watch, an online platform, show that Assam lost over 18,000 hectares of natural forest last year, significantly above the national average.
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