College students and environment activists in Assam have launched an online campaign against a new National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) recommendation allowing coal mining in the ecologically-fragile Dehing Patkai elephant reserve.
The campaign has been launched after NBWL authorities in April recommended that a portion of 98.59 hectares of the reserve forest could be used for opencast coal mining. While the rest of the reserve forest could be used for underground coal mining, they suggested.
The move is expected to have an adverse impact on the flora and fauna in Dehing Patkai elephant reserve, which is part of Dehing Patkai wildlife sanctuary spread across 111 square kilometres in Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts. The sanctuary is said to be the largest tropical lowland rainforest in the country.
