Deepor Beel's fish diversity in peril due to pollution: Experts

Guwahati, Feb 19: Pollution in Deepor Beel - Assam's lone Ramsar Site and a part of which is also a bird sanctuary - has severely affected the wetland's fish diversity and abundance. Fishermen who have been fishing in Deepor Beel for generations lament that while the loss in fish yield has been severe, some local varieties have gone extinct in the water-body.

They also fear that their livelihood will be in complete jeopardy if the alarming trend continues. Around 800 families are involved in fishing activities in Deepor Beel.

"It is only during the annual three-day community fishing in mid-January that we get a good catch. Rest of the year, we get very few fishes. Our income has diminished a lot," Golak Das, president of the Deepor Beel Paspara Samabay Samiti (local fisher- men's association), told The Assam Tribune. According to Das - and something corroborated by various studies on Deepor Beel the water-body has undergone radical changes in the face of growing pollution for years. While the city's municipal solid waste has been dumped close to its vicinity for two decades, untreated sewage discharged through several natural channels, too, is polluting the wetland.

"Unless the dumping of garbage and discharge of untreated sewage is checked, Deepor will be a dead wetland in the next few years. We have made a number of representations to the government but to no avail. We even met Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma here recently and sought his intervention in the larger interest of the wetland's survival together with community livelihoods," Das said.

Das said that the water of Deepor was getting so polluted that even domestic animals like cattle had stopped drinking from it.

"The water is foul-smelling and you cannot wash your hands with it, as it leaves a slimy substance. Even wild elephants are visiting the wetland with reduced frequency. There was a time when fishermen used to cook rice with Deepor's sparkling water as they used to spend the day there catching fish," the day there catching fish," he added.

According to a study 'Valuing Fishing Activity of the Deepor Beel' done by Jyotisikha Dutta and Archana Sarma in March 2020, the total estimated value of fishing in Deepor Beel is Rs 11,64,69,375 per annum.

"The estimated value of fishing per hectare is INR 29,015.78 per annum. The estimated Net Present Value (NPV) of fishing is INR 97,05,78,125. This valuation is important to draw the attention of the policymakers for resource investment in conserving the Beel for continued benefits," the study noted.

Pramod Kalita, general secretary of Deepor Beel Suraksha Mancha which has been fighting for the wetland's survival echoed similar concerns.

"Discharge of the city's untreated sewage into Deepor through the Mora Bharalu, Basistha and Bahini channels must stop. The Kalmoni river at Azara is also another source of polluted water. Khanajan, too, is increasingly carrying garbage into Deepor," he said.

Kalita said that during the recent World Wetland Day celebrations, they extracted three quintals of municipal solid waste, mostly plastics, from the wetland's bed and peripheral areas.

"Plastic pollution has become a serious concern. As the wetland's water recedes during the lean season, more and more waste surfaces," he added.

As the garbage at the municipal dumping site is often burnt, it has led to another environmental and health hazard in the form of air pollution.

"Many residents over a large area are compelled to keep their windows closed to escape the filthy and toxic air. This is now a grave health hazard for a large part of Guwahati," he said.

Periodical studies by Pollution Control Board Assam (PCBA) including one done in 2023 have also been revealing severe pollution in Deepor Beel waters. The contaminated water's pH value indicated high alkalinity together with low dissolved oxygen levels. "This is a direct fallout of garbage dumping and discharge of untreated sewage into Deepor Beel. Unfortunately, the situation remains unchanged despite there being strictures from NGT and Gauhati High Court," he said.

Kalita added that growing unplanned urbanization resulting in a real estate boom in the wetland's vicinity, developmental activities like road and railway expansion, etc., had emerged as another hazard for Deepor. "There is no check on these developments, which are choking the wetland," he said.

By

Sivasish Thakur