TINSUKIA: The Tinsukia District Students’ Union (TDSU) has vehemently opposed the proposed oil palm cultivation in a biodiversity-rich district like Tinsukia as the exotic plant is highly detrimental to the environment and ecosystem, besides it would adversely affect local farmers of Saikhowa. The student body threatened to launch democratic agitation if the government and the Patanjali Foods Ltd. decided to go ahead with the programme.
In a press release, Raja Balimara and Samar Jyoti Gohain, president and general secretary of TDSU, stated that apart from 17 districts in Assam, the palm oil plantation drive was launched at Laopani village in Saikhowa under the Tinsukia district on August 8 by the government and Swami Ramdev with active support of a few legislators amid large-scale resentment by environmentalists and organizations. Quoting opinion of the experts and media reports, the AASU leaders stated that the palm oil plantation has already been officially banned in Sri Lanka and other countries. While the Supreme Court has already ordered a ban on palm cultivation in Andaman and Nicobar Islands due to the adverse conditions caused by it, in neighbouring state Mizoram, the artificial drought caused by farming has forced local residents to collect water from far away due to fall of ground water level, besides making the soil totally unproductive for other edible crops, the release stated, adding that the oil palm tree creates a desert-like situation.
Environmentalists claim that a mature palm oil tree requires 300 litres of water daily and the land of Assam is expected to become a desert after the depletion of the groundwater cycle while a minister ridiculed that the palm oil plantation requires less water than paddy cultivation, the AASU leaders stated. According to experts, these crops also increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which causes global warming. Besides, high level of pesticides applied in oil palm cultivation will pose a serious threat to public health. This cultivation will also threaten the land rights of the indigenous people as invasive plant does not allow native plants to grow in changed environment, the release added.
In Tinsukia district about 80 per cent of the farmers grow vegetables in different areas of the greater Saikhowa area to meet the demand of the entire district. The Dibru-Saikhowa National Park which is close by, is famous for its feral horses. The AASU condemned the government’s attempt by taking such an environmentally adverse decision without considering the environmental impact. While opposing the cultivation started by the Government of Assam, the AASU warned the foreign companies and the Government of Assam to stop this cultivation.
Also Read: Assam: Badminton Association of India’s Guwahati Center of Excellence To Be Launched Tomorrow
Also Watch: