Sikkim celebrated A Day for Mother Earth

July 7, 2020

Gangtok, Sikkim

A Day for Mother Earth, an initiative of the State Government’s for celebrating nature was observed across the state environment on Tuesday 7th of July, 2020. The state level programme organised by Forest and Environment Department, Government of Sikkim at Golitar Fambonglho Wildlife Sanctuary in East Sikkim was attended by the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) as the chief guest along with other political dignitaries, panchayats, JFMS/ EDC members, officers, teachers, students and general public.

The state government's ambitious project ‘A Day for Mother Earth’ was launched by the Chief Minister at Kitchu Dumra in South Sikkim last year with its unique feature of observing seven minutes (11 am-11:07 am) of no vehicular movement (except for emergency and essential services) in Sikkim as a step towards nature conservation.

At the onset of the programme, the Chief Minister along with other dignitaries visited lakeside and watch tower at the Fambonglho premises which was followed by a photo session near the stone signage. The chief minister also visited to the nature interpretation centre and Orchidarium. Moving on with the event of celebrating nature, the Chief Minister inaugurated the Open Air Biodiversity Theatre at Golitar premises whereby the ceremonial plantation session was also held. Extending his warm greetings of ‘A Day for Mother Earth’ to the gathering, the Chief Minister lauded the efforts of the State Forest department for successfully holding the event this year as well and extended gratitude to the public at large for diligently observing seven minutes of no vehicular movement this morning.

Defining conservation of forest and environment as a responsibility of every citizen of Sikkim, the Chief Minister appealed to the public at large to take care of Mother Nature throughout 365 days every year. He also pointed out the important lessons learnt during these trying times of the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of health, hygiene, and environment and cautioned all to maintain the safety protocol at all times.

He further urged people to avoid the usage of plastics or any other amenities that could harm the environment and added that plantation and cleanliness drives should be initiated by every individual in their respective areas throughout the year as a contribution towards conserving the environment.

The Hon’ble Minister Forest Shri Karma Loday Bhutia, in his brief speech, talked about how each one of us can contribute for the conservation of our forest and environment. Touching upon the subject of man-animal conflict, the minister appealed to all foresters to raise wild edible fruit trees such as Phunchey, Bhadrashey, Amphi, Kattus, Okhar, etc., at the nurseries with full dedication so that the department has the sufficient number of such trees for wide distribution to the public by next year in order to mitigate man-animal conflict in the State. He reiterated the efforts of the State government in the field of eco-tourism and shared plans of creating a source of employment generation for people of rural areas.

During the programme, the Rajya Van Samrakshan Evam Paryavaran Puraskar initiated by the Forest department was presented to Shri Ratan Raj Pradhan, primary teacher of Katuk Vidyasagar Primary School, Ranka, East Sikkim, for his exemplary contributions in the field of environment protection. The chief guest on the occasion also presented certificates and cash prizes to the winners of the online competitive events such as quiz, essay writing, painting, open photography and short video contest held during the World Environment Day on 5th of June, 2020. The chief guest also handed over fuel wood saving devices to the beneficiaries of JFMC and EDCs.

The programme also saw the presentation of a citation to former ACF, East, Shri Samdup Tshering Bhutia, for his immense contributions in constructing eco-tourism facilities at Golitar, Fambonglho Wildlife Sanctuary. On the occasion, the chief guest launched eco-tourism merchandise and released booklets on conventional nursery techniques and story of Fambonglho.

The Wildlife-East Division under Forest department handed over a cheque of Rs. 81,213 as a contribution towards Chief Minister's Relief Fund to support the State government during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The programme ended with the vote of thanks by Shri Y. P. Gurung IFS, Chief Conservator of Forest (Headquarter).

A 23 minute video presentation on the activities of Forest and Environment Department was made to the Chief Minister and other guests separately after the function at the dining hall. The Chief Minister appreciated the departmental activities and assured to extend support in further strengthening the department.

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