Nov

Vanamahotsava Marked with Reforestation Event in Kalapahar-Daigrung Elephant Corridor

Ram Terang, July 07, 2016: To mark the 67th Vanamahotsava – the annual week-long tree plantation festival observed across India – the Silonijan Forest Range Office, Karbi Anglong, and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) organised a tree plantation programme in the Kalapahar-Daigrung elephant corridor yesterday.

The programme was part of ongoing initiatives to restore the corridor’s habitat, and comes just a few months after the residents of Ram Terang had voluntarily relocated from the area in order that the corridor could be secured. This voluntary relocation, a milestone in the conservation history of northeast India, was a part of the Karbi Anglong Conservation Project in which WTI has partnered with Elephant Family (EF), Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund (JTEF) and IUCN-NL, with support from the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and Assam Forest Department.

_{Villagers planting saplings during the Vanamahotsava programme at the Kalapahar-Daigrung corridor}

Over 200 persons participated in the Vanamahotsava programme, including residents of New Ram Terang and adjoining villages, local police officers and CRPF personnel, media and WTI staff. About 2500 saplings of plants indigenous to the region, like Phyllanthus emblica, Acacia catechu, Dillenia indica, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Gmelina arborea and Artocarpus heterophyllus were planted over an area of 2.5 hectares of corridor land.

“This event, a joint effort by WTI and the Silonijan Forest Range Office to restore corridor habitat, is a wonderful way to celebrate the 67th Vanamahotsava”, said Bibison Tokbi, Range Officer, Silonijan. SK Singh, a CRPF commandment from Chokihola was also enthused to be part of the programme: “We feel proud to have done something for nature today, as forests and wildlife play a very important role in our lives. I am also happy that WTI is doing such outstanding work for the people and wildlife of this region. I have visited both the old village and newly relocated village site, and I would like to congratulate all those involved in this great conservation success.”

_{The Range Officer, Silonijan distributing elephant figurines to the villagers of Ram Terang}

K Bhuyan, Police Officer in Charge, Chokihola, added: “Though this initiative has been carried out by WTI and the forest department, it is actually the duty of every resident individual to care for and protect Mother Nature. On behalf of the police staff of Chokihola branch, I thank everyone who has come forward for this initiative, and extend the police department’s support to WTI in their nature conservation interventions in the Karbi Anglong region.”

Dilip Deori, Project Lead, Karbi Anglong Conservation Project, thanked the villagers and officials for their enthusiastic participation in the Vanamahotsava programme. As a token of appreciation, the WTI team distributed decorated elephant figurines to the 19 Ram Terang families that had voluntarily relocated from the elephant corridor, providing elephants and other wildlife unhindered passage through the Karbi Anglong- Kaziranga landscape.