A scene of young & Old enjoying Baisagu
Special Coverage: (Article) Just before shooting off to scribble something I wish to thank my dear friend who had coaxed me to writing this. Otherwise in today’s stressful tandem of life where is the time to sit and write? Because for writing is a free-flowing of words that come out of my emotions and not some juxtaposition of serious talk. It is always who I am that I write.So when I was posed to write something on Bodoland I was filled with an overflow of emotions as what to write and from where to write.
I never knew much about Bodoland (My apologies) expect in news items. But destiny maybe willed otherwi se.My first brush with Bodoland came when I was posted at Chirang District as a District Media Expert under NRHM.I was just fresh back from Delhi as the metro life had already taken a toll on me. I succumbed to the pressures of my hectic job life and decide to finally pack my bags and be back home. Anyways there are always which I believed lots of opportunities back home.So I came to Chirang District as a District Media Expert under NRHM and started working there.
The stark reality of human life really dumbfounded me.Having bred and brought up in city life I never imagined the real scenario of rural people.It was my privilege that I got an opportunity to work at grass root level and strengthen the health system by developing a proper communication strategy.We really had to struggle as we had to go to places with no roads and even cut off form mainland.There were times when I used to be back home at late hours of the night.
A two ladies making traditional dress
During my tenure, I found the people Bodoland very simple, sober and quite helpful. My previous notions were all dissolved as I found myself at home here. Although I feel the progress of this area is hampered due to the incessant bandhs however I feel the zeal of patriotism and hard work of the local Bodo people will them to overcome all strides.
Even though I am no longer with NRHM I am still very much a part and parcel of Bodoland. Whenever I try to move away from here I am always pulled back here by some strange coincidence. One of my friends joked “You and this place can’t seem to keep away from each other, can you?”
A scene of people worshiping lord Bathou
One of the best
things that I loved about the people here is that they are still much
rooted to the ground.Whatever they
feel they say it openly which is hardly found in today’s lot of materialistic
people.The friends
and love that I gained here will be treasured by me throughout my life.
As it was unanimously
decided by the board members of Burlungbuthur Publication that
‘Bibungthi-The Opinion’ would be lauched in the Enviroment Month of June,I thought
the Journal would be incomplete without adding in it the untapped but the
richest resource of Bodoland “The Green Forest cover with the widest varieties
Bio-diversity” keeping in view the perspective of Tourism Potentially in
Bodoland.
It is another
factor that mention Bodoland still narrows the eye of outsiders with
suspicion as by and large the area is yet to remove the stigma of negative tag
of disturbed area
it had acquired during the Bodoland Movement period.Other
wise,God has
been generous enough to gift us with bountiful natural beauties which are known
to very few wild-life lovers and scholars related in the concerned fields.
Located in the
northern bank of river Brahmaputra & Southern foothills of Bhutan and
Arunachal Pradesh,Bodoland is
Nature’s Paradise criss-crossed with number of
perennial rivers from Pachnoi in the east to the Sankosh in the west.The gurgling
of 26 rivers through the land and forest range stretching over an area of
3,539.94 sq.km,the colourful&
rich cultural heritage of Bodoland makes it an area of unique mosaic
of natural beauty & cultural heriatage.Bodoland can
thus be developed as destination of
eco,adventure,
wildlife,ethnic,and cultural
tourism all blend into one which could be the focal point of tourist attraction.
Geograpically,Bodoland is landlocked territory
in Assam between Bhutan,West Bengal
and Arunachal Predesh.The Meghalaya
state boundary is also close to B.T.C.The area therefore depicts a unique
diversity in its natural endowment and strategic location.If the
history is traced back, the present Bodoland housed the Dooars or Duars,gateways to
Bhutan situated in the Terai region of Himalayas.This proximity
to the Bhutanese Kingdom is another aspect of the tourism potential of
the area.
Rich natural reserves
, one World heritage Site in the form of Manas National Park,the Rajiv
Gandhi Orang National Park, Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary-the only Golden
Langur Sanctuary in the world,Barnali Wildlife
Sanctuary and the diverse forest resources are the strengths of the area which
makes Bodoland a nature’s paradise.There
are 5 Forest Divisons and 2 social Forest Divisons within B.T.C not to forget
the beels(lakes) and wetlands which is the destination of number of
migratory birds and storehouse of flora & fauna.The beautiful
Diplai Beel with an area of 455.00 hectare,about 19
kms.away from Kokrajhar is one of them.
Intestingly,the historical
source dating back to 18th AD gives an account that Kokrajhar,the headquater
town of Bodoland derived its name from ‘Khungkhra’ a plant known as
ramie(Scientific name-Bosmeria river).It is
said that Kokrajhar was a dense forest cover with the Khungkhra plants grew
abundantly and the its fibre was extensively used fro weaving & knitting of
fish nets and making ‘Serja’ a musical instrument of the Bodos.Today,Kokrajahar Town
by the Gaurang River is developing its Cultural Complex and infrastructure to boost
the tourism concept which is still in nascent stage.
The proximity of
B.T.C to the north Bengal area,which is
the gateway to the eexotic tourist locales in Sikkim,Darjeeling,Nepal and
Bhutan,further enhances
the potential to develop as an important tourist destination.The Dooars
in Bengal has Natural and Historical sites,which many
continue to Zumduar,Ultapani,Bansbari& Maozigendri in
Manas Biosphere Reserve,the pristine Kalamati with mystic multi-shades of salty
hills& hillocks and link with Guwahati or enter Orang to continue wildlife
or further to the famous Kaziranga National Park or even enter Bhutan through
Samdrup Dzongkhar.There are
several traditional entry points from Bhutan and few connect Thimpu.Sarpang is
one of the most convenient entry points to Ultapani in Manas Biosphere Reserve.We can
say that all four districts of the Council are rich in biodiversity offering a
potent tourism package.
However,B.T.C area
has not been able to get its due share in the tourism map, inspite of the blend
of tourism experience that it can offer.The lack
of promotional & marketing initiative and inadequacy of infrastructure
facilities are the prime factors that are holding back the growth of Tourism
industry in Bodoland which otherwise would have given large number
of employment opportunities to youths. Another factor is, tourism plans
& policies by the Government are yet to be implement in real sense
in Bodoland Territorial Council. Above all, we the public should be proud
of our rich traditional heritage and resources and develop our management
skill and of course the will & determination to do whatever we can to
protect our natural wealth.Today,the sad
story is forest wealth of Bodoland is depleting at the fastest rate with
widespread encroachment of forestland and discriminate destruction of forest by
anti-social elements in the form of never-ending human greed by all sections of
society.
Words by Priyanka
Bhuyan
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