Awareness prog on garbage and stray dog management held at Zuluk

GANGTOK, 01 Mar: An awareness programme on garbage and stray dog management was organised by the Forest, Environment & Wildlife Management Department [FE&WMD] and WWF-India, Khangchendzonga Landscape Programme at Zuluk in East Sikkim on 29 February for the people of the area.
Addressing the awareness programme, Manjeet Singh [Secretary-cum-PCCF, FE&WMD] stated that there are seven Wildlife Sanctuaries in the state of Sikkim which were made for the protection of wildlife. People and scientists visit sanctuaries for study and research work only, he added.
He informed that people mostly get to see wild animals only in zoos, but the people of Zuluk are lucky as they were living in an area next to a wildlife reserve and could see wild animals in their very own forests. Even tourists don’t get to see such beautiful nature and climate, which are experienced in Sikkim and this is the very reason why tourists come to visit the state, so people must conserve the environment, he further added.
He further informed the people about the various programmes and works being done by the department for the welfare of the environment and the people living in and around the sanctuaries. The Secretary further added that the department was conducting immunization programmes for various domestic animals present in the villages in the fringe areas of the sanctuaries.
He also stated that 20 LPG connections would be distributed to the people by the department very soon, so that people don’t have to depend on fire wood, thereby avoiding man-animal conflict in the forests. He further added that it was necessary to keep good relations with the army as they were in the state for the protection of the people.
During his power-point presentation on wildlife of Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, Conservator of Forest, Gut Lepcha informed that though Sikkim was a very small state as compared to other states, it is very rich in flora and fauna. Sikkim has the most species of butterflies and birds and has many plants and medicinal herbs, which are not found any where else, he added.
Dr. Partho Shah [senior project officer, WWF-India] in his presentation stated that the Red Panda Project was started in 2005 in Sikkim and no former study had been conducted before that on the animal, except the one conducted in Darjeeling from 1996 to 2000. The best forest area in Sikkim is the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary and the study on Red Panda was conducted here, he said and added that according to a study conducted by WWF-India there were about 20 to 25 Red Pandas in the Sanctuary as it was the best habitat available for them in the state.
Lieutanant Colonel Aditiya Srivastava of the 9th Gorkha Rifles speaking on behalf of the army informed that the army did not allow hunting or killing of wild animals and even cutting of fire wood by locals was not allowed in the army area. The biggest culprits of waste and garbage is the army but the army was working on how to take care of their waste, he said and added that the army is doing its bit for the protection of the environment and nature in Sikkim.
The programme was also addressed by Dr. Anil Minra [Additional PCCF & Project Director, JICA], Dr. Thinley Bhutia [SARAH, Animal Husbandry & Veteniary Sciences Department], Usha Lachungpa [senior research officer, FE&WMD], Priyadarshinee Shrestha [landscape Coordinator, WWF-India] and Lak Cheden Theeng [senior project officer, WWF-India], who spoke on garbage, feral and stray dog management in the area, while the awareness programme was also attended by Forest Department officials, local people and school children.