Guwahati: Assam Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia on Thursday submitted “through official channel” a four-page memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his help “on behalf of the people of Assam” to persuade the Centre to act on the Brahmaputra contamination and Naga framework agreement issues.

In the memorandum, Saikia, on behalf of the Congress Legislature Party and parliamentarians, drew the President’s attention to the pressing issues for immediate action so that China forthwith ceases any activity which poses a “threat” to the Brahmaputra, and that the provisions of the Naga agreement “do not infringe” upon the overall interests of Assam or any other state.

The Telegraph had reported Saikia’s move to meet the President and also how the Opposition leader had been trying to get an audience with Kovind for past several months, something articulated in the memorandum.

Critical of the Centre’s handling of the two issues, Saikia said he had only highlighted two issues in the memorandum and there were other issues which he will raise once he gets an “appointment with his Excellency”.

The memorandum states that the waters of the Brahmaputra have remained contaminated and unfit for use for over a month, reportedly as a result of some construction activities undertaken by China in the upper reaches of the river in Tibet. Tests carried out at IIT Guwahati on samples collected from the downstream areas adjoining Guwahati have revealed the presence of turbidity, iron and ammonia far beyond the permissible limits.

“The need of the hour is for a diplomatic team, accompanied by river experts from the Northeast and other parts of the country, to interact with counterparts from China without further delay and work out a solution before the fate of the Brahmaputra is sealed,” he said.

On the Naga agreement, Saikia said the “reticence” on part of the Centre to reveal the contents of the pact signed on August 3, 2015, has “fuelled misgivings” among the people of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, because the “Nagalim” proposed by the Naga leadership, and apparently ratified under the agreement, has included territory belonging to the three states.

News Source Telegraph India