DIGBOI, May 11 - A massive plantation drive conceived as ‘Mission Green Tinsukia’ under the ‘National Afforestation Programme’ was launched on Tuesday ceremonially in various places of Margherita subdivision. The launching ceremony was held on Tuesday morning in the Borjan forest village on the fringe of Dehing-Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary amidst a huge gathering of the Borjan JFMC members and the local public.
In a brief meeting held on the occasion, Ranjan Kumar Das, DFO of Digboi Forest Division, explained the main purpose of the programme. He said that the entire plan was conceived by Puru Gupta, Deputy Commissioner of Tinsukia district in order to retrieve the unique glory of the entire district of Tinsukia as the home to a thick cluster of floral varieties, providing secure habitat to an equally varied faunal species.
Appealing to the gathering, Das further said that the public together with the forest villagers must undertake the responsibility of planting more and more trees in order to prevent climate change and stop the negative impact thereof.
ParthaPratimBoiragi, ADC of Tinsukia district, while participating in the programme as the coordinator, observed that the district administration set the target of planting four to five lakh saplings in a total of nine specified areas with the active involvement of 16 different departments and various organisations and PSUs such as the Army units of the district, CRPF, Oil India Ltd, IOCL-AOD, the Panchayat bodies, the 2nd Assam Police Battalion, the DRDA, Margherita Development Block, educational institutions etc. HN Sarma, Honorary Wildlife Warden, also addressed the gathering briefly urging the people to exercise restraint in their exploitation of the natural resources.
The programme began with the lighting of a ceremonial lamp on the fringes of the Borjan forest by Renuka Saikia, an elderly lady of the village in the midst of chanting of a ghosa from the Kirtan. Saikia welcomed the initiative and said, “The tree saplings are more than saplings – they are like our children!”
In the reserve forests under Digboi Division of Forests spread over Margherita subdivision, the target was set to plant 2,20,000 saplings in a total area of 200 hectare (60 hectares in Borjan Reserve Forest, 40 hectares in the reserve forest near Balijan, 40 hectares under Powai Beat, 40 hectares in the Jagari area of Katha Reserve Forest and 20 hectares in Namphai Reserve Forest.
A wide diversity of tree saplings such as titachopa, khokan, hollokh, hollong, ajar, arjun, hilikha apart from the indigenous fruit species were being planted. As part of the programme, a special block has been created in Digboi Forest Arboretum for plantation of the saplings of the rare Nagchampa flowers.
DOOMDOOMA: Tinsukia district administration took up a programme of planting five lakh trees across the district on Tuesday. As a part of this programme, 55,000 trees were planted in Doomdooma circle. The Additional Deputy Commissioner of Tinsukia district, who is also the Revenue Circle Officer of Doomdooma Revenue Circle, informed this correspondent that these trees were planted by the side of NH-37 and NH-52 with active co-operation of the Doomdooma Forest Division, the Army, CRPF, ITBP and several other government departments and NGOs.
