Dear friends, Here is a press statement for your information and use. Regards, Nava Thakuria, Guwahati, Assam Citizens' meet asks Gogoi to break his silence over rhino killings
Citizens' meet demands CBI probe into rhino killings Guwahati, February 13: A citizens' meet, organized by the Journalists' Forum, Assam (JFA), on Wednesday demanded a CBI inquiry into the killings of rhinos going on unabated in Assam to unravel the truth behind the entire episode. Held at the Guwahati Press Club auditorium with JFA president Rupam Baruah in chair, the meeting urged State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to break his silence on the issue and let the people know his government's stand and the steps he has taken, if any, to stop the menace. Incumbent forest minister Rockybul Hussain has miserably failed to protect the rhinos and prevent their poaching, the citizens pointed out and said his failures have proved he is not fit for the job. The speakers, who included All Assam Students' Union adviser Dr Samujjal Kumar Bhattarcharya, Nature's Beckon director Soumyadeep Datta, senior journalists Hiten Mahanta, Nava Thakuria, Ranen Kumar Goswami and Sabita Lahkar and social activists Akhil Ranjan Gogoi, Ajoi Dutta and Jawaharlal Saha, expressed the opinion that only the indigenous people living in areas surrounding the wild life habitats can ensure the safety of rhinos. And the illegal foreigners settled in these areas are a threat to wild life and a source of poaching. The meeting demanded protection to indigenous people's rights and eviction of illegal foreigners. The citizens demanded a committee to monitor incidents of rhino poaching, natural death and stocks of wild life parts in custody of the state forest department. This committee should include representatives from cross sections of concerned citizens and exclude forest department officials and NGOs operating with forest department funds. In another demand, the citizens asked the concerned authorities to conduct a yearly census of wild life including rhinos and make the results public. Issued by: Rupam Baruah, Hiten Mahanta, Nava Thakuria and Ranen Kumar Goswami on behalf of Journalists' Forum, Assam
