CHOWKHAM, Jan 2: Civil society should take up the responsibility of protecting and preserving natural vegetation, wildlife, rivers and aquatic life.
Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein made this appeal today while participating in a meeting held here at the Chongkham Buddha Vihara campus which discussed the pressing issues of preservation of environment and maintenance of ecological balance in Namsai district attended by the officials of the District Administration, HoDs, CBOs, NGOs, youths and student organizations. The meeting was convened by the Namsai DA in view of the rampant destruction of forest resources and natural vegetation in the district. “The tribal way of life and food habits revolve around Mother nature and it is therefore equally important to protect and preserve the rich natural vegetation, wildlife, flora and fauna, rivers and aquatic life in order to maintain ecological balance as well as to keep alive the rich cultures and traditions,” Mein said in his keynote address. 
Calling upon the people to refrain from illegal hunting and fishing and maintaining cleanliness of rivers, the DCM stated that to sustain the strong tourism prospect of the district such as elephant rides, animal sightings, boat ridings etc., pristine nature and its flora and fauna must be preserved. He also requested the visitors to respect the compounds of the shrines and maintain the sanctity of the Pagodas. MLA Namsai Chau Zingnu Namchoom while calling for prevention of rampant destruction of vegetation, opined for massive afforestation drive to maintain rivers and underground waters. He also suggested formation of a committee to supervise picnicking by outsiders and appealed to the youths of the area to lead in maintaining cleanliness of the picnic spots. Former Minister C T Mein called upon the youths to take up the responsibility voluntarily and support the Namsai DA in this regard.
Chairing the meeting, Tai Khamti Chief Chow Khanseing Namchoom submitted a seven-point memorandum to the DCM which the latter assured to look into in a phase-wise manner. While proposing for upgradation of the Chongkham EAC to ADC Headquarter, the Tai Khamti Chief also requested for posting of sufficient police personnel in Chongkham police station and establishment of a separate fire station here.
Namsai Deputy Commissioner R K Sharma while observing that indiscriminate destruction of forest resources and rivers have posed a threat to the existence of cultures and traditions of the local people, read out a set of resolutions which were unanimously adopted in the meeting. It was decided that a ban will be imposed on fishing with modern equipment like electrocution, blasting and large nets and only traditional fishing with angling, small nets will be permitted. Besides imposing a complete ban on hunting, extraction of minor forest products like Toko/Kohu patta, bamboo shoots, banana pods etc. for commercial purposes will also be prohibited. Civil societies have been asked to take appropriate steps to preserve the rare and valued species of aquatic animals, flora and fauna and local village councils or NGOs will identify the picnic spots and regulate their cleanliness.
Presidents/Representatives of Namsai based CBOs/NGOs, Students’ Unions, Youth Associations, Farmer Producer Organizations and officials participated in the meeting.  DCM Media Cell

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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