Howly, Assam, March 24, 2018: Working in collaboration with the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), IFAW-WTI organised a wildlife conservation and biodiversity-themed workshop and wall painting programme in the town of Howly in Assam’s Barpeta district yesterday.
About 250 students from DIET as well as ten schools across Barpeta Road and Howly participated in the event. The programme began with DIET Principal Kula Ranjan Deka welcoming the participants as well as the guests invited for the day. Sanatan Deka, Assistant Manager with IFAW-WTI’s Greater Manas Recovery Project then gave an audio-visual presentation on Manas National Park and its conservation value, outlining the contribution made by IFAW-WTI, the Bodoland Territorial Council and the Assam Forest Department to restore the Manas landscape to its former glory.
This was followed by the wall painting activity, which was inaugurated by Thaneswar Malakar (IAS), the Deputy Commissioner of Barpeta. Mr Malakar expressed his appreciation for IFAW-WTI’s work in the landscape and suggested that the wall painting activity be expanded to cover all schools in the district. In this, he promised, he would extend every support and cooperation. “Our tolerance levels towards wildlife have become very low”, he opined. “Wild species are being killed in a manner that seems to suggest there is no place for creatures other than humans on planet Earth.”
Also present on the occasion were Ravindra Kumar Mishra, State Consultant (Teacher Education), UNICEF, and renowned artist Munindra N Bhattacharjee. “This is an innovative idea that connects wildlife conservation and painting; it will help the younger generation become more aware about threatened species and the need for their conservation”, said Mr Bhattacharjee.
“IFAW-WTI has conducted three such events near the First Addition to Manas National Park in the last two months – at Ballamguri High School, Koilamoila High School and Amguri Higher Secondary School in the Chirang district”, said Dr Bhaskar Choudhury, who heads IFAW-WTI’s Greater Manas Recovery Project. “The idea of organising this event at DIET was to disseminate basic ideas about wildlife conservation and biodiversity among students from urban and semi urban areas.”
