Plantation and conservation programme undertaken in Noipara tea garden

From our Correspondent

MANGALDAI, June 11: The magement of Noipara tea garden under tea giant Goodricke Group of Companies situated near India-Bhutan border in Udalguri district has launched a new programme to attract students and children to plant more and more trees in an effort to check climate change and restoration of green forest cover for the wild animals and birds. The plantation and conservation programme was recently undertaken in Noipara tea garden.

Senior Assistant Mager of Noipara TE, NM D'Souza and senior environmental jourlist Jayanta Kumar Das launched the programme by planting a sapling each followed by joining of hundreds of school children and teachers in presence of several women and jourlists. Office bearers of ADWR, a social NGO of the district also took part in the plantation programme.

The tea garden had already converted an area of 20 hectares of lands into forest in order to provide shelter to wild animals, especially the wild elephants. Senior Assistant Mager D'Souza said that an area of five more hectares would be added to existing 20 hectares of new forest land. Referring especially to the ongoing man-elephant conflict in Udalguri district, he said that Noipara tea garden had not been affected much by wild elephants as they had been maintaining an 8-km long elephant corridor from Bhutan border to plains of Assam through Noipara and Orangajuli tea gardens. The wild herds could move through the corridors undisturbed.

According to the tea garden magement there had been no casualties in their tea garden due to man-elephant conflict for several years. Another official, Dipak Kumar Hazarika said that they had arranged three water reservoirs for wild elephants during their seasol migration from Bhutan hills to Assam plains during June to December in each year. He further said that they had trained their workers not to come on the way of the wild herds. Some people have also been especially employed to check if any wild animal or bird was killed or captivated by any tea garden workers. Hunting of any kind has totally been banned in and around the tea garden and tea garden magement has been maintaining a very cordial relation with the forest department.

Later in the afternoon of the day, an interactive session was held in the garden hall where Senior Assistant Mager NM D'Souza; environmental jourlist Jayanta Kumar Das and Deputy Director of ADWR, Christi Mushahari had an interactive session with children on conservation of flora and fau. Local youth Syan Tanti performed a song on conservation in the function while the students of Jagriti LP School staged a spectacular drama on recent deforestation activities in Udalguri district. Assistant Mager Niraj Moni Chouracia, president of local unit of AASAA, Robin Gowala, Rubi Bora, Supriya Hazarika, Puja Singh also attended the programme as distinguished guests.