Deepor Beel Wetland Faces New Threat from Elevated Rail Project

Guwahati: Deepor Beel sits on Guwahati’s southwestern edge. This vital freshwater wetland acts as a flood buffer and a home for migratory birds. It serves as a crucial passage for elephants moving between the Rani and Garbhanga reserve forests. Now, the Northeast Frontier Railway is clearing land for a 4.7-kilometre elevated corridor. Workers have already felled around 100 trees.

Officials claim the structure will prevent fatal train-elephant collisions. Records show 15 elephants died on these tracks over two decades. Nationwide, Assam saw 82 elephant deaths from trains between 2009 and 2024. Proponents call the elevated rail a pragmatic lifeline. Critics see a band-aid for deeper urban rot. One researcher argued: "By driving massive concrete infrastructure directly into one of our most fragile wetlands, we aren't solving the ecological crisis—we are just cementing the decades of poor planning and unchecked urbanization that fractured Deepor Beel in the first place."

The wetland sustains villagers in Sadilapur, Dharapur, Majirgaon, Garigaon, Keotpara, and Pamohi. Resident Jyotsna Ali recalls a time of abundant fish, turtles, and storks. Today, pollution and encroaching development choke the life out of the area. Waste from a dumping site at Belortal ruins nearby crops. Resident Subodh Das reports that fish cannot survive in the polluted eastern waters.

Government departments historically failed to agree on the sanctuary's size. Estimates ranged from 4.14 square kilometres to nearly 200 square kilometres. Experts suggest this confusion benefited land speculators. In 1989, journalists warned that routing the railway through the wetland was a mistake. They pushed for a northern route near the Assam Engineering College. A feasibility study by the Wildlife Institute of India later identified this same northern alignment as a viable alternative, but officials ignored the recommendation.

Environmentalists now demand a science-based review. They want authorities to prioritize wetland protection over quick fixes. Residents watch their history fade. They worry the next generation will only know the beel as a graveyard of concrete and trash.