Namdapha, Oct 5: Deputy Chief Minister, Chowna Mein has appealed to restore the glory of Namdapha National Park which he said has diminished over the years and urged people not to encroach into the reserve.

"The famous Namdapha National Park has diminished over the years and we need to bring back the old glory of Namdapha National Park. For that to happen, we have to protect the core habitat area of the Tiger Reserve from any human disturbance and get rid of encroachment," he said while attending the valedictory function of the 5th edition of Namdapha Butterfly Meet 2022 at Deban Camp in Namdapha National Park & Tiger Reserve on Tuesday.

Mein said the government will make every effort to preserve, protect and conserve the natural biodiversity of Namdapha National Park. Appealing to the people of nearby areas not to encroach into the Tiger Reserve area, he said that the government will help to find new place for rehabilitation of those villages settled inside the Tiger Reserve and their grievances will be brought before the Ministry of Forest, Govt of India for resettlement.

He commended the efforts made by the Team Namdapha led by Field Director of Namdapha National Park & Tiger Reserve, Aduk Paron for successfully carrying out eviction drive of eight families who encroached into the Burma Nallah near 40 miles.

The Namdapha National Park is home to 1899 fauna and 1188 flora species including endangered species of rare plants & animals and is one of the richest biodiversity hotspots. With about 512 species of Butterfly, it is home to highest numbers of Butterfly Species found in Arunachal Pradesh.

Lauding the initiative of the Society for Education & Environmental Development (SEED), Mein said “We can celebrate the Namdapha Butterfly Festival on a bigger scale. It can be named as ‘Namdapha Butterfly Festival - A Biodiversity Meet in Arunachal Pradesh'. It will not only be a Namdapha event but for all Arunachal Pradesh where we will showcase the biodiversity as well as the rich cultural diversity of our state. We can invite environmentalists, biologists and research scholars from across the globe, not only to do research and enjoy the Butterfly Festival but also to teach us the ways to conserve and protect the natural habitats of our rich flora & fauna.”

Through such festival, he also advocated to link tourism with nature in order to promote ecotourism and other economic activities associated with nature tourism.

Addressing to more than 100 participants from various Institutes from Arunachal Pradesh, North Eastern States and other parts of the country, he appealed to them to spread the message of conservation of nature through the Butterfly Meet and to carry forward the legacy of nature conservation as practised by our predecessors.

Minister of Urban Development & Housing, Food & Civil Supply, Kamlung Mossang, Secretary General of Arunachal Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Toko Tatung, Environmentalists/Biologists and participants also spoke on the occasion.

Minom Pertin, General Secretary of Society for Education and Environmental Development(SEED) while highlighting the findings of the 5th edition of Namdapha Butterfly Meet 2022 informed that 214 species of Butterfly were recorded in the three days meet. He informed that highest number of participants from 13 States including students and environmentalists/biologists from other North Eastern States, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir apart from Arunachal Pradesh participated in the event.  

Deputy Chief Minister also interacted with the officials of Namdapha National Park & Tiger Reserve. 

MLA Namsai, Chau Zingnu Namchoom, ADC Miao, Ibam Tao and officers from Namdapha National Park & Tiger Reserve also accompanied the Deputy Chief Minister in the Butterfly watching at Lungkai Nallah crossing Nao Dihing River.