Arunachal: DEWS observes National Wildlife Week at ‘Mer’ village
Pasighat-( By-Maksam Tayeng ) Along with rest of the country the National Wildlife Week which is being observed from 2nd to 8th October every year across the country, was also observed at Mer village under Mebo Sub-Division here today which happens to be one of the prime fringe village of the D. Ering Wildlife Sanctuary (DEWS) near Assam-Arunachal boundary.
The Wildlife Week celebration programme was chaired by Vinod Perme, Gaon Burah of Mer village and the programme was attended by Gaon Burah and Burih from Paglam, Mer and Namsing village including the village elders and representatives from the Mer village.
Speaking about the aims and objective of the celebration, Domek Koyu, Range Officer, Sibiyamukh Wildlife Range, DEWS urged the public of the fringe villages like Mer, Namsing and Paglam to come forward and co-operate the department of wildlife in securing and protecting the wild animals and birds of which are on the verge of extinction.
Koyu said that without the coexistence of wildlife and forest we humans can’t also sustain and for this we need to protect and preserve our wildlife. As a Range Officer Sibiyamukh the villages like Namsing and Mer come under his jurisdiction of buffer zone/Eco-Sensitive Zone and he urged all the public of fringe villages to help the department in retaining the rich flora & fauna of the sanctuary.
While, RFO Borguli Wildlife Range, Naning Perme also urged the public to extend their best co-operation in securing the wildlife of DEWS while taking reference of recent hunting incidents at his range where his own departmental staff was found involved in the hunting.
While speaking on the part of public representatives, Gaon Burah, Namsing village, Duleswar Pangging said that, the public is co-operating the department in protecting the flora & fauna of the sanctuary and he urged the department to give exemplary punishment to those involved in illegal activities of hunting and poaching inside the sanctuary.
He also said that the fishing activities in and around the rivers of DEWS also need to be restricted as some hunters get into hunting in the pretext of fishing. Gaon Burih from Paglam village also batted for the protection of wildlife.
GB from Mer, Gandhi Pangging and village secretary, Akan Regon also laid emphasis on fully securing the sanctuary’s flora & fauna who also appealed the department to accommodate the youths of the fringe villages in the job of wildlife protection in the sanctuary.
Joining the celebration, Adi Students’ Union, East Siang Unit President, Kangir Jamoh and All Tai Ahom Students Union, Kamrup (M), Guwahati, Assam, President, Chao Basant Gogoi also fielded for complete protection of the wildlife and forest resources.
Both Jamoh and Gogoi said that, our people are getting blinded with monetary gain and selfishness due to which some of our people are hell bent to destroy the wildlife and forest by killing wildlife and by carrying out illegal logging activities.
While strongly batting for mitigating men-elephant conflict and urging the general public not to indulge in politics and blame game in the job of wildlife and forest conservation, M. Tayeng, Member, State Board for Wildlife, said that a concerted effort is needed to fully secure the wildlife of the DEWS.
He also urged the fringe people of DEWS to have the feeling of ownership of the sanctuary’s rich flora & fauna which in real sense is a public asset and will have general employment opportunities in coming years if properly secured and protected for wildlife tourism.
Meanwhile, seeking the full support and cooperation of the fringe villages in wildlife protection activities in and around the DEWS, Tasang Taga, Divisional Forest Officer said that, we need to rededicate ourselves to secure our wildlife of the sanctuary which can generate livelihood for many unemployed youths in days to come at the lines of Kaziranga National Park of Assam.
Due to poisoning and other destructive activities in and around the sanctuary by the people, some bird species like Vulture are also getting extinct including the little population of rare birds like Bengal Florican which is found in DEWS.
