Saturday, May 18, 2013

Udalguri people welcome Santias Kunjur's RS nomination from Assam

The declaration of Santias Kunjur,present EM,BTC as the second Congress candidate for ensuing RS election has been welcomed by people of Udalguri district beside others. Santias Kunjur a young new generation youths belonging to tea garden community and an inhabitant of Tangla town of Udalguri district expressed his happiness at his nomination as the second Congress candidate to Rajya Sabha ,from Assam.Talking specially to this correspondent of The Assam Tribune he said that he would represent people of Assam irrespective of caste and community if elected to RS.He further said that being an inhabitant of rural place of Udalguri district,he understood the problems of the rural people of Assam. Dr.Dipankar Saharia, a leading Congress worker of Assam from Tangla also expressed his happiness at the nomination of Santias Kunjur as the Congress candidate for RS election to RS.Dr,Saharia told this correspondent that Kunjur would do his best for the promotion of economic developement of the people of Assam belonging to backward classes living below poverty line. In the mean time Green Society,Udalguri, Green Valley Forest and Wild Protection Society,Udalguri District Journalist Association,Tangla Press Club,Nagarik Manch,Kalaigaon,Media Circle,Mangaldai etc have welcomed the nomination of Santias Kunjur as a candidate of RS from Assam.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

From L Raj Phukan,Ananta Bagh,Mubina Akhtar,Girindra Adhikari,DFO;Gholing Tshering,DC,Bhutan; Thaneswar Malakar,DC,Udalguri;Jayanta Kumar Das

Bhairabkunda,Udalguri,Assam

Meeting between India and Bhutan at Daifam

Gholing Tshering,DC,Bhutan, Jayanta Kumar Das,Hony.Wildlife Warden and Thaneswar Malakar,DC,Udalguri

From (L) Thaneswar Malakar,DC,Udalguri;Girindra Adhikari,DFO,Udalguri;MP Sarma,ACF,Udalguri; Mubina Akhtar,Coordinator,Assam Environmental NGO Forum and Jayanta Kumar Das,Hony.Wildlife Warden,Assam

Mubina Akhtar,Green Reporter and Coordinatotor,Assam Environmental NGO Forum at Bhairabkunda

Thaneswar Malakar,DC,Udalguri,Assam at Bhairabkunda

JFMC Bhairabkunda brings hope to nature lovers in Assam

A high level delegation of Assam Environmental NGO Forum visited JFMC (Joint Forest Management Committee) Sapangaon near Indo-Bhutan border at Bhairabkunda on May 2 recently to study and suggest its up gradation to an eco-tourism hot spot. The delegation included Mubina Akhtar,Green Reporter and Coordinator,Assam Environmental NGO Forum,Guwahati and its core members namely – Nitul Nath (Aranya Surakhya Samiti); Dr.Bibhuti Lahkar,Dr,Abdul Wakid and Ashok Dey (Aranyak);Raj Phukan (Green Guard) etc. Thaneswar Malakar,Deputy Commissioner,Udalguri; Girindra Adhikari,DFO and MP Sarma,ACF of Dhansiri Forest Division; Jayanta Kumar Das,Hony. Wildlife Warden, Udalguri also visited the 5 Sq KM picturesque man-made forest along with the visiting environmental workers. The visiting members had a discussion with the DC and DFO where a large numbers of JFMC members and media persons were also present.The Deputy Commissioner offered to do infrastructure development like construction of cottages with drinking water and sanitation facilities for visitors. Aranyak,Assam offered to install nine Solar light panels in the JFMC. Green Guard and Aranyak also offered to provide installations of early warning system in the district to check “Man-elephant Conflict” The Forum members also decided to organise awareness meeting at vulnerable locations in the district in cooperation with district civil and forest administration. It needs mention that six villages on the India-Bhutan border at Bhairabkunda joined hands with the Forest Department in successfully regenerating a stretch of barren sandy forest land. The results of this quiet community initiative done under joint forest management (JFMC) are evident with the regenerated forest expanse of 5 sq KM already emerging as a shelter of wild animals and birds. The 22.24 sq KM Bhairabkunda Reserve Forest (RF)was left without a single tree by the early 1980s due to rampant illegal logging. Afforestation drive by forest Deptt. in association of people of six villages namely- Sonaigaon, Goroimari, Bhairabpur, Sapangaon,No.1 Mazargaon and No.2 Mazargaon started in April 2007 and within five years a spectacular man made forest known as JFMC forest has grown up at Sapangaon by converting plot of barren sandy lands measuring 500 hectare (5 sq KM) in to a new picturesque forest by planting khoir,gomari,simul,shisum etc near Dhansiri river,very close to Bhutan and Arunachal. Conservation activists hoped that the place would draw the attention of tourists all over the world,if government developed infrastructure of the area. The regenerated forest land now has rich vegetation and has given shelter to wild elephants, deer, monkeys,leopard,bears etc beside various species of flora.A small river with several canals -a few of those man made runs throughout the forest ,providing replenishment for the green cover.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Cultural exchange and conservation of nature along India-Bhutan border discussed at Daifam

The officials of Samdrup Jonkhar district of Royal government of Bhutan and Indian officials of Udalguri district and members of environmental NGOs of Assam met at sub-divisional HQ Daifam in Bhutan on May 2 recently to discuss about conservation of nature and cultural exchange between two districts of India and Bhutan.Mutual cooperation for speeding up conservation of flora and fauna near the international border was also discussed at the meeting. Indian side was led by Thaneswar Malakar,Deputy Commissioner, Udalguri. Other members were Girindra Adhikari,DFO and Madhurya Sarma ACF of Dhansiri Forest Division; Mubina Akhtar, Green Reporter and Coordinator of Assam Environmental NGO Forum; Jayanta Kumar Das,Hony.Wildlife Warden,Udalguri; Dr.Bibhuti Lahkar, Dr.Abdul Wakid and Ashok Dey of Aranyak; Raj Phukan of Green Guard ( had been to Antarctica this year) etc. Bhutan side was led by Gholing Tshering,Deputy Commissioner,Samdrup Jonkhar district. All the district officials of Bhutan district including SDO (Civil),Daifam ; DFO,Samdrup Jonkhar etc were present at the meeting held at Daifam Circuit House.Earlier DC,Gholing Tshering welcomed Thaneswar Malakar, DC, Udalguri with a traditional Bhutan shawl. In return DC,Udalguri felicitated his Bhutan counterpart with an aarnai.Welcoming Indian DC,officials and distinguished people Bhutan DC said that conservation of environment had been difficult in Bhutan side these days following massive destruction of forests in Assam,India. He pointed out that taking advantage of difficult terrain and less security forces , anti social activists from India had started destroying forests in Bhutan. He expressed hearty thanks to Thaneswar Malakar,DC,Udalguri for meeting him and his officials. He assured that he would arrange to send a cultural group to Indian side to encourage friendship,cooperation and cultural exchange. DC Udalguri also thanked Royal Government of Bhutan for the warm reception that day. According to him wild animals mostly wild elephants had always been safe in the forests of Bhutan. “Destruction of forests in Bhutan would create more man-elephant like problems in the state” DC remarked. He declared that he too would invite his Bhutan counter part along with officials and cultural group to Udalguri.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Dr.Dipankar Saharia suggests market oriented approach in agriculture

“Assam economy is primarily an agrarian economy with 80 percent of its population engaged in agriculture and allied activities.The main source of livelihood of the rural areas is agriculture,espicially rain fed paddy cultivation.Traditional agriculture had always been a way of life and subsistant-oriented.But with the passage of time and advancement of farming system,there is a strong need to shift out the traditional production oriented approach to market oriented approach to meet the demand and increase the farmers income level. Majority of the farmers are small and marginal category and lack knowledge on land,water and crop management practices.The farmers have fewer options for vertical expansion of agriculture and increasing in cropping intensity due to less exposed on such practice and scientific input management”. So said Dr.Dipankar Saharia at Tangla on May 1 recently.He was speaking as the guest of the month at Tangla Press Club. Dr.Saharia further said that farmers of Assam get food for only four to six months for their sustenance and rest of the period they depend on daily wage earning. He said that poor infrastructure facilities such as poor connectivity,inadequate irrigation and low agricultural productivity had been biggest hurdles on the way of economic self sufficiency. According to him 40 percent of the state's rural population lives below poverty line,the alternative lies in developing the rural economy by creating opportunities for self employment in both primary and secondary sectors. He suggested that market based production like ginger,peeper and yellow ginger etc in powder form; Muga cultivation and production etc could fetch more money than the selling of raw ginger peeper etc. Integrated water resource management, promotion of farm ponds construction of location specific water harvesting structures,micro irrigation system and monitoring of the rural development projects in villages should be a continuous process etc were other several such important suggestions. The proceeding was anchored by Bapan Sarma,President,Tangla Press Club. Dr.Saharia also distributed 6000 nos of hybrid banana plants to farmers at Bhokelikanda village on the same day in the evening. It needs mention that Dr.Saharia, a resident of Tangla and son of former Assam home minister late Ramesh Chandra Saharia has been working as the Coordinator TERI (The Energy & Research Institution) NE office, Guwahati for several years. He has been distributing thousands of hybrid banana,orange, peeper, bamboo saplings to farmers in all the NE states specially in Assam. TERI has been helping farmers by providing technical know how and saplings free of cost.