Tea giant Goodricke Group to create man-made forest in Udalguri district

our Correspondent

MANGALDAI, June 2: Taking a bold initiative to check climate change and restoration of forests for wild animals and birds near the India-Bhutan border area, tea giant Goodricke Group has taken up a massive plantation programme for creating a man-made forest in an area of 13.17 hectares near Orangajuli and Noipara tea gardens in Udalguri district.

Maging Director of Goodricke Group (Kolkata), AN Singh attended the ceremony as the chief guest on June 1. He, by planting a sapling at the site, ceremonially iugurated the plantation programme and addressing the children and students, requested all to take special care of the saplings like their siblings. He said that Goodricke Group would do its best to convert the barren plot of land into a new man-made forest to provide shelter to the flora and fau, with drinking water facility, especially for the wild animals and the birds.

Making a special reference to the ongoing man-elephant conflict in Udalguri district which has taken a serious turn, he said that two tea gardens under the Goodricke Groups in Udalguri district mely Noipara and Orangajuli, had not suffered much as they had been maintaining a six-km long elephant corridor from the Bhutan border to the plains of Assam through both the tea gardens which has paved the way for undisturbed movement of the wild elephants.

Senior Mager of Orangajuli TE, Talat Ahmed also planted a sapling on the occasion. Other distinguished guests present were-Welfare Officers-Atanu Sil and Gokul Kumar; senior jourlists- Jayanta Kumar Das and rayan Deka, president of district AASAA Robin Gowala; president of district ATTSA Dilip Tanti and president of Orangajuli VCDC, Bachan Karmakar. Several hundred school children from Orangajuli TE LP School took part in the plantation programme under the guidance of Bikram Pradhan and Susmita Tanti.