Arunachal Airgun Surrender Abhiyaan gains popularity among people

A CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: The widely known campaign to conserve wildlife, initiated by the Department of Environment & Forest under the initiative of Minister Mama Natung – the Arunachal Airgun Surrender Abhiyaan– has added a word 'gun' to it to encourage people to surrender licensed guns.

To encourage surrender of licensed guns, former Minister of State Hari Natung, along with Manaki Natung, spouse of Minister for Environment & Forest, surrendered Spanish Mauser Rifle and SBBL gun respectively at the PCCF office here on Tuesday.

Addressing the gathering, advisor to the Minister for Environment & Forest, Kumsi Sidisow said that the surrender of licensed guns was a new beginning of the campaign to preserve and protect the wildlife. He said it was due to the continuing and untiring efforts made by the State government and the department in particular that people were volunteering to surrender licensed guns too.

"I will ensure that more guns are surrendered by the public in the days to come. I am also glad that the respective DFOs are doing great in taking forward the campaign for greater interest," he said.

PCCF RK Singh said that the department has added the word 'gun' along with airgun to encourage people to surrender their licensed guns too. He said the campaign had got national recognition and many of the States were following the path of Arunachal Pradesh.

"It is very encouraging to know that people of a tribal state, where hunting is an ancestral tradition, are coming forward to surrender airguns and guns for the conservation of wildlife," he added.

Appealing public figures to join the campaign, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) of Wildlife & Forest and Bio-Diversity, Millo Tasser said the campaign had gained mass participation and till date more than 1473 airguns along with licensed guns and chainsaws had been surrendered. He said that few people were skeptical about the campaign at the initial stage. However, the thought has been changed by mass movement and participation of the public from various walks of life.

Meanwhile, Hari Natung, while appreciating the State government in initiating the campaign, also appealed to the state media in disseminating the importance of wildlife through various platforms and creating awareness about it.

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