Dibrugarh: As party candidates intensified their efforts to bring their campaigning to an impactful end, a group of cancerned citizens gathered in Dibrugarh to try and and protect the “green lungs” of the town.A signature campaign is being led by prominent citizens of Dibrugarh to urge candidates and the next MLA to take a firm stand to save the “green lungs” — 200 bighas of tea garden land in the heart of Dibrugarh — which they want to be converted into “Zubeen Garg Urban Forest”.“The tea estates within the city are not merely commercial plantations; they are the green lungs of the city, providing fresh air, ecological balance, and natural beauty to thousands of residents. However, there is a growing concern that parts of these historic tea estate lands may be sold, converted, or commercially developed, which may lead to the destruction of open natural spaces in the heart of the city,” Team Sustainable Green Dibrugarh, which is leading a signature campaign on the matter, said in an appeal.“We want the new MLA and new govt to take our demand seriously. It will be hard to breathe in this town if the the lungs of Dibrugarh is destroyed,” said social activist Priyanku Gogoi, one of the leading figures of the team.The organisation, headed by renowned scientist and retired Dibrugarh professor Paramananda Mahanta, has been urging the state govt to acquire tea estate land within the city limits through appropriate legal provisions in the larger public interest. Noted author and activist Juri Borah Borgohain said, “We want the tea garden land to be protected, because it is in the heart of Dibrugarh. We want govt to acquire the land, since the tea garden management is selling the lands to different parties.”“We have lots of hope from the new MLA, to be elected, on this issue,” Borgohain added.
