#LetterToRiver: The Diroi river by Chaitanyamoi Chetia - Mystique of the Diroi

Dear River,

You flow continuously and gently many kilometres till you confluence with the mighty river Brahmaputra at Disangmukh in Sivasagar, Assam (India). During the school holidays and vacation I come to my village crossing the river Diroi. There are many oil wells of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), as well as Oil India Limited (OIL); and these oil wells are engaged in extracting crude oils. When I come to the beautiful bride of the river I see you flowing , and I feel ecstasy seeing you flow. Like other river bridges which have guard rails for the safety of the pedestrians and the vehicles, you do not have guard rails.

I see many used plastic packets and plastic bags scattered in the bank of the river. Plastic is abandoned these days, but still people are not conscious about it. It will take time for the people to learn that they should bring bags from home for marketing. You flow crossing many tea estates and these tea estates produce some finest tea leaves and many people want to taste tea from those tea estates.

Crew members of ONGC and OIL wearing orange attires and blue attires with helmets on their heads throw plastics from inside their duty vehicle towards outside in the paddy fields and marshy lands and in the rivers which pollute the river water. They will have to learn that they should not dirty the environment while arriving the oil rigs which are scattered in the paddy fields.

During the Monsoon that lasts from May to July the rivers are flooded, and you destroy the paddy fields and marshy lands and crops, but still people love you. You help the women of the villages to wash clothes as the women after washing the clothes in the river water make the clothes dry near the bank of the river tying roles in bamboo near the river.

Regards
Chaitanyamoi Chetia