The blame-game over alleged illegal coal trade in Margherita-Ledo area in Tinsukia district of Upper Assam continues between rights activist and KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi and Margherita legislator Bhaskar Sharma.
Akhil Gogoi on Tuesday made an on the spot survey of the unabated illegal mining including the heinous rat hole mining being carried out at various locations of Margherita, Ledo, Lekhapani and Jagun area in Tinsukia District.
The peasent leader visited most of the remote and vulnerable affected sites in Margherita, Ledo, Lekhapani and Jagun and took stock of the various ongoing illegal practises wherein the common people have long been affected and ecology greatly threatened in different ways.
Akhil met the aggrieved people in the area and discussed about several issues and drew an agenda to be executed in the days to come to combat the menace and bring to public light and notice of the State Government seeking immediate intervention.
The day long tour of Akhil in the area and interacting with the local people secured him various footages and photographs to underline clearly the extent of illegalities in various aspects and the perverted role and involvement of local administration and accountable departments in the abatement of the activities, said a close associate of the peasant leader in Tinsukia District.
Meanwhile, a former minister of the State while speaking to Northeast Now recently alleged that some of the vital government machineries were trying hard to tamper the evidences in the illegal rat hole mining sites inside various reserve forests and technologies were fast shifted to safe locations after the NGT ordered probe and Akhil’s press meet in Guwahati.
According to him, the illegal transportation of the coal consignments too has been drastically restricted in Tinsukia district in view of the issue picking momentum in Dispur.
However, in the light of the present allegations of Akhil Gogoi with CID reports in his hands, NGT interference therein and scores of FIRs in various police stations regarding illegal coal trade, it remains to be seen how Margherita businessman turned MLA Bhaskar Sharma handles the objections and establish to his electorates and the government that there is no illegal coal practises and no nexus or syndicate whatsoever operates in his jurisdiction.
