Guwahati youths resume global climate strikes calling for urgent action as Baghjan still burns

People of Baghjan have lost their homes and there seems no hope of respite even after 110 days of the oil spill. Environmental degradation caused by the oil spill cannot be will cost the people of Baghjan years of livelihood loss as they all depend on the Maguri beel, tea gardens and paddy fields for their living.

As per the recent interim report by National Green Tribunal, Oil India Limited has continued to drill and operate the oil wells in Baghjan. In January 2020, the central government amended the environmental laws to change the category of onshore and offshore drilling operations from A1 to B2 which allows the companies to do away with public consultation for environmental clearances. Thus, now, private companies can drill without taking the consent of locals who will directly be impacted by these projects.

Dibang Valley falls in seismic zone 5 and the proposed 17 mega-dams on Dibang River not only pose a threat to people of Arunachal Pradesh but have a global impact. It is scientifically proven that deadly pandemics are directly connected with deforestation which is an outcome of such devastating projects.

Assam is also a witness to downstream flooding from various dams and these dams will further, deteriorate the situation.

Coal India Limited has been mining in Saleki which is a proposed reserved forest for the last 17 years, without any environmental clearance.

Eco-sensitive zones of rich biodiverse areas like Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve and Dibru-Saikhowa National Park are manipulated in a way that allows the big companies to continue mining right at the edge of these protected areas.

Further the recent Draft EIA 2020 notification aims to dilute the environmental laws by legalizing post facto- clearance and reducing the scope of public consultation for many polluting industries.

"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change mentioned in its report in 2018 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. But the rate at which the industries are emitting greenhouse gases, as per various reports, we might overshoot 1.5 degrees between 2030 and 2050. On 25th September, which is the 6th Global Day of Climate Action, climate strikers around the globe have come out on streets to demand climate action with respect to people at frontlines and minority communities," said one of the protesters.

Fridays For Future, Guwahati, a people's movement staged a demonstration at Beltola with placards urging the government to pay attention and take effective action on ever-increasing cases of environmental negligence, with a number of 17 strikers amidst a pandemic on the Global Climate Strike. Its aim is to make local relevant actions based on the urgency of such evident situations in and around the environment.

"The clock towards human extinction is ticking and we are still busy waking up people. It's high time that we stand for the self and the co humans, take action instead of debating all around. Make sustainable shifts, hold authorities accountable, stand with the marginalized communities and do the needful but it should be now and today," Shivani Goyal, who took part in the Friday strike, said.

Shirshendu Sekhar Das, another youth participating in today's protest, issuing a warning again climate change, said, "Today is the 6th Global Climate Strike, and we see that the MOEFCC has been trying to dilute many environmental laws via new drafts and amendments in eco-sensitive areas. Especially during this pandemic, in the NE of India, we saw that Coal India Limited have been mining in a proposed reserve forest since the last 17 years without proper mining lease and the same goes with OIL in Baghjan also do not have proper environmental clearance nor did any public hearing for the upcoming drilling operations. And it is clearly visible how the locals there have been struggling. With the recent EIA draft 2020 where the Government has been trying to dilute the environmental laws by allowing post facto clearances, erasing the need for public hearing and more of such ways."

"Today we hope to create awareness on the matter and tell people how the Government has been trying to mend the ways for private corporations and making it convenient for them to exploit eco-sensitive areas without environmental clearances. If we don't stand for ourselves today, our future is doomed and we are here in the streets to raise our concern and send a message to the authorities to take stringent actions against the companies and corporations which are violating environmental laws leading to immense human suffering," he added.

"Environment has the very existence before human dominance and thereby we must take that under consideration whenever taking any step towards new building or development. Or else we should be ready to face more such pandemics in the future because of the deforestation and the loss caused to the environment. We must act and do the possible starting from now and today," Sagar Tiwari, another participant, said.

Harshita Kaushik, another protester, said, "It's nearly 4 months now that people in Baghjan have not been able to be at peace or enjoy basic human rights and dignity. They have lost numerous animals and other resources. There's no restoration yet and the accountability of authorities is lacking. There's an immediate need of these and we must question the authority until we find justice and mitigate these issues.