Discovering Sasoni

It was in 1952 that officials struck oil in Naharkatiya,at the heart of which is Sasoni,a cluster of over 75 villages in Assam.

It was in 1952 that officials struck oil in Naharkatiya,at the heart of which is Sasoni,a cluster of over 75 villages in Assam. That was the first oil find in independent India. Fifty eight years later,villagers here have hit upon another findthe tourism potential of the region.

In March this year,during a public meeting to get some grazing land freed from encroachment to establish a primary health centre,we thought why not convert the grazing reserve and an ox-bow lake called Merbil into an eco-tourism spot, says Moni Manik Gogoi,a social entrepreneur who was once an ULFA cadre but quit the outfit out of frustration.

Six months later,the district administration has come forward to provide funds for the eco-tourism project under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and other rural development schemes. Oil India Ltd,which operates the Naharkatiya oil and gas fields,too has expressed its desire to become a partner in the project. With several rounds of public consultations,we have come up with about Rs 7.5 crore drawn from various schemes to develop an eco-tourism project around Merbil lake, says Gyanendra Dev Tripathi,deputy commissioner of Dibrugarh.

Ornithologist Anwaruddin Choudhury will carry out a bird survey in the area and the forest department will decide on whether it can be declared an ecological reserve,attached to the Joypur reserved forest that is part of the rain-forests in upper Assam. The rain forests are also home to hoolock gibbons.

With places like Margherita,Digboi,Dibrugarh and Ledo in Assam and Pangsau Pass,Stilwell Road,Mayudia,etc in Arunachal Pradesh attracting tourists in good numbers,Merbil can surely be added to tourists itinerary, says Tripathi.

A 45-minute drive from Merbil lake takes you to Chabua,which has the countrys first tea estate,a World War II cemetery and the worlds second oldest oil well at Digboi. Majuli,the worlds largest inhabited river island is about three hours from here.

To take the idea of Sasoni forward,Moni Manik Gogoi has created a core team,which has held 28 public meetings with the residents of the area.

Story continues below this ad

People here realise the importance of eco-tourism and the socio-economic benefits it can bring, says Jyotiprasad Konwar,an Assamese lecturer. Last week,over 20,000 people turned up at the Sasoni High School ground when the project was flagged off.

The project is full of dreams. We want to set up eco-huts and tree-houses. We will soon have a bird-watching tower and half-a-dozen boats. Two years from now,people can come,stay here,go bird watching and fishing and enjoy Bihu and other local festivals, said Manik Gogoi.