Defiant Unity: Nagaland Residents Heroically Disrupt NBWL’s Site Inspection to Protect Dishoi Valley from Vedanta’s Oil Exploration
On November 15, 2024, residents from Nagaland’s Mokokchung district staged a protest in Assam’s Jorhat district against a site inspection by the National Board for Wildlife’s (NBWL) Standing Committee. The inspection aimed to evaluate the potential for oil and gas exploration in the eco-sensitive Dishoi Valley, which affects the Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, home to the endangered Hoolock Gibbon.
The NBWL committee, featuring representatives from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Wildlife Institute of India, the Assam Principal Conservator of Forest, and wildlife expert Raman Sukumar, assessed whether the project by Cairn Oil and Gas could go forward. Last October, the NBWL postponed approval of Cairn’s proposal due to conservation concerns.
Around 60 protesters from Mokokchung vociferously opposed the inspection, claiming the land belonged to Nagaland and was under Supreme Court jurisdiction. They argued that any activities should be halted pending a court verdict.
In August, the MoEFCC’s Forest Advisory Committee had provisionally approved Vedanta’s plan to explore 4.49 hectares within the sanctuary’s eco-sensitive zone. Environmentalists and conservationists have expressed significant concern about the ecological impact of such exploration on Hollongapar’s delicate ecosystem and its unique biodiversity.
Original Story https://nenow.in/north-east-news/assam/assam-nagaland-residents-disrupt-nbwls-site-inspection-for-vedants-oil-exploration-at-dishoi-valley.html
Category : Assam,Nagaland,Northeast News,Top News
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Publish Date: 2024-11-15 21:28:00
