Guwahati: Environmentalists and wildlife organisations, including Hati Bandhu, have opposed an alleged move by the Sonitpur district administration, along with the revenue and forest departments, to hand over land within the Depota elephant corridor for industrial use.
The organisations have urged the Assam Forest Department and the state government to retain the notified elephant corridor, warning that any move to denotify or alter its status could adversely affect elephant movement and escalate human-elephant conflict.
The Depota elephant corridor, located under the Tezpur Revenue Circle along NH-15 and extending towards Arimora Chapori on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra, was notified to facilitate the movement of elephant herds from Nameri National Park and Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary to Arimora Chapori.
Following the notification, two concrete signboards were installed to demarcate the corridor and facilitate awareness of the protected passage.
According to the organisations, the signboards were demolished a few months ago by alleged land mafias acting at the behest of non-indigenous industrialists. They said the administration later reinstalled the signboards following protests by environmental groups and media reports.
The groups further alleged that attempts were continuing to denotify the corridor, even as industrial projects had come up on agricultural land adjoining the elephant passage.
They urged the Forest Department and the Assam government not to convert the corridor into an industrial or commercial zone and warned of democratic protests if any such move proceeds.