Preserving Deepor Beel

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has vowed to transform Deepor Beel, a Ramsar Site, into an important tourist destination, according to a report in the Shillong Times. He announced this while taking part at the closing ceremony of the first Deepor Beel Mahotsav. He also stressed the importance of maintaining natural diversity and promoting ownership amongst people for protecting nature. “Deepor Beel is our precious national treasure. We’ll have to strive hard to maintain its heritage and richness. This wetland has been included in the Smart City project to preserve its ecology and transform it an important tourist destination. The state government would also take several other measures to develop its tourism potentiality,” Sonowal said. Further saying that Deepor Beel has an intrinsic relationship with Guwahati, the chief minister urged the people of the adjoining villages to take the responsibility in upholding the pristine beauty and pleasant environment of the wetland. “There are 2004 wetlands and 2,400 islands of various sizes in the state and they have been playing an important role in maintaining the pollution level and enhancing natural beauty of the state. We have to be very cautious in sustaining the green cover of Deepor Beel and the hills surrounding it”, Sonowal observed.

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Oral cultural traditions

Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi recently commented that the North-east is a treasure trove of oral culture, which is unparalleled and unique in nature. One of the chief characteristics of this region is its rich oral culture and most of the communities in this region are predominantly oral in their social transactions, he added.

Addressing a workshop on oral cultural traditions in Guwahati, the governor also pointed out that the region embraces great demographic diversities since time immemorial, which form a crucial link between the two great civilisations of India and China. It is a microcosm of India in terms of sheer diversity. It is a meeting point of different racial and linguistic groups, he added.

One of the chief characteristics of this region is its richness in oral culture. Even in the valley areas, where literacy made inroads due to state formation, literary pursuits were only concentrated around the royal court as usual. Large sections of the people remained oral in their cultural transactions as well.

Wear a helmet

In a bid to create awareness among two-wheeler riders who are often found without helmets while riding on the streets, people in Silchar chose the occasion of Valentine’s Day to spread the message of road safety, says a report in the Guwahati-based Assam Tribune. On Wednesday, members of a local literary group — Kotha — assembled outside the Goldighi Municipal Shopping Mall with roses and sweets. Interestingly, the members were seen halting the riders who were without helmets and offered roses and sweets to them urging them not to forget to use helmets while riding.

“People using two-wheelers must realise that they have family members back home who keep waiting for their safe return. Hence, we wish to spread the message that life is precious and wearing helmets while riding is for their safety,” said Jaya Yadav, one of the members.