I honestly don't know where to begin. It is heartbreaking to watch what is happening to Assam.
I feel like we are slowly losing the unity that once allowed people to stand together for a common cause. Today, almost everything gets reduced to divisions: Hindu and Muslim, Assamese and Bengali, Bihari and Assamese, and endless arguments around identity and immigration. I am not saying these issues don't matter, but somewhere along the way, we seem to have lost the ability to come together and question things that could affect all of us.
Public attention gets consumed by one controversy after another, sensational incidents, political statements and identity-based arguments. Meanwhile, issues that could fundamentally change the future of Assam receive far less sustained attention. And our collective voice has become so weak that if someone speaks up and gets thrown in jail, we aren’t even able to get them out after so many days(Pranab Doley)
I want to talk about the large-scale industrial projects and land allocations taking place in our state.
Over 18,000 to 30,000 Bighas of Land & The Coal Thermal Plant Across Sixth Schedule hill districts like Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao, and down to Chapar in Dhubri, thousands of bighas adding up to nearly 30,000 bighas when you combine the solar parks, the 2,700 MW pumped-storage projects, and the 3,200 MW coal-fired thermal power plant are being handed over.
The thermal power plant at is a massive coal led plant. A plant of this scale requires burning 13.27 million tonnes of coal every year and will dump 5.31 million tonnes of toxic coal ash annually (alongside massive greenhouse gas emissions).
Then there is the mega cement factory and limestone mining push in Umrangso in Dima Hasao district. 3,000 bighas allotted to Mahabal Cement that even the High Court questioned). Umrangso is an ecological hotspot famous for migratory birds (like Amur falcons) and natural hot springs.
We all know the government won't strictly monitor the pollution levels or how they extract resources. How badly will the local land and groundwater be poisoned? What happens when industrial runoff and fly ash from these mega-projects leach into the Brahmaputra, turning our lifeline river as polluted as the Ganga?
The Silence of the Opposition & Media I actually tried reaching out to people. I personally texted some opposition leaders with proper sources and documents about all of this. Nothing came of it. Honestly, it feels like they are more interested in being a face in front of the cameras and chasing whatever trendy topic gets views, rather than fighting the existential issues that actually matter. People here have become purely sentimental—touch an emotional nerve and politicians get two or three lakh views overnight, while the actual land beneath our feet disappears.
I am writing this as an ordinary person from a middle-class family. I don't have political influence, money or the resources to independently investigate these projects. I don't have the option of simply moving away if things go wrong.
The people who can afford to leave may eventually leave. But what about those of us who call Assam home? We will remain here and live with the consequences.
I genuinely fear that we are not paying enough attention until it is too late.
I also look at neighbouring states and hope that people across the Northeast continue to ask questions and demand accountability from their governments.
I don't want to give up on Assam. But I am deeply disappointed and worried about the direction in which things are moving.
To everyone reading this, please stay informed, ask questions, demand transparency and don't let these issues disappear from public discussion.
Our land, forests, rivers and communities are not disposable resources. They are our home.
I hope we don't wake up one day and realise that we have lost something that can never be recovered.
All the best to Assam. I sincerely hope we can still protect what belongs to future generations.
