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Where are we heading to?

By editor |

I travelled to Orissa a few months back and saw the huge acres of forest land lying vacant. These are preserved under forest belt and natural resources of the State. In the tourism booklets, the Assamese boast themselves of being nature lovers and so on and so forth. But the reality is that today not an inch of land is left free in Assam.

Just travel along the highway. People have settled right on the road-side, a phenomenon I have not seen anywhere else. Starting from Dhuburi to Sadiya, Nagaon to Silchar, all the roadside is strewn with shops and houses haphazardly. Open pastures and forest land has become a thing of the past. Everywhere there is construction. What will happen to our cropland? There will be artificial man-made food scarcity very soon. Prices will soar too.

On top of that, all lands, forests, fields are being encroached by Bangladeshis. There is no scenery, no greenery in present day Assam. Its full of shops, dhabas, huts, houses all along the road.

Again for the past several decades successive State governments is settling Bangladeshis. The AASU and several organizations are fighting these so called 'minorities' which are infact 'majority' now. Will the media in Assam help the State in this struggle? Or, will the Assam Media take the side of Bangladeshis?

The Media should not sensationalise by publishing photos and news and using terms like 'harassment', 'minorities'. Certain news needn't be shown. AAMSU and the AUDF create problems in deportation. Let the AASU do the needful. This is a fight between foreigners and natives.

Rongmon Pegu
Dikhowmukh, Sivasagar

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