Demand to make Rasik-bil a silence zone

 

COOCH BEHAR, Jan. 7: Nature conservation activists demanded ban on picnics at Rasik-bil area in Tufanganj to offer a disturbance-free environment to the winged guests of winter. If the authorities feel it hard to stop picnics they should declare the area at least a silence zone, said the secretary of Nature and Adventure Study Group (NASG) Mr Arup Guha. Sound of loudspeakers, crackers and excessive noise are driving the migratory birds away from the Rasik-bil area though the place was famous for these birds. At the initial stage the area was selected as a tourist spot to attract bird watchers and nature lovers but the place is turning into a jungle of concrete structures day by day, he lamented.

 

The issue came up at a seminar organised jointly by the NASG and Cooch Behar Social Forestry Division at Red Cross Bhavan in Cooch Behar yesterday. In the seminar basic concept of social forestry and its different aspects, need for conservation of wetlands and waterbodies were discussed. A slide show on fifty-two species of birds available in Cooch Behar made the programme more attractive. Cooch Behar DFO (SF) Mr Apurba Sen, ADFO (SF) Mr Asitava Chatterjee and NASG secretary Mr Arup Guha were the main speakers. Among the participants there were teachers and students of different schools and other nature lovers.

 

During discussions on need for plantation and conservation of wildlife Mr Guha pointed out that numerous saplings are distributed during the forest week each year but most of the saplings fail to survive for lack of maintenance. Before planting trees these should be selected cautiously so that those cannot turn distasteful to the wild animals. At the same time these should not encourage the timber smugglers or forest plunderers, he opined. He also tabled a proposal to conduct a survey on past and present situation of wetlands in Cooch Behar. []

 

PHOTO : A seminar on different aspects of social forestry goes on at Red Cross Bhavan in Cooch Behar on Sunday.