The contribution of youth will be decisive in safeguarding the environment and ecology for which Forest and Environment Department has initiated a mission to make youth instruments of change.This was stated by Minister for Forest, Environment & Ecology Choudhary Lal Singh while interacting with students during ‘Paryavaran Excursion’ organized near Jasrota Wildlife Sanctuary at Kathua.The Minister said the aim of organizing such visits was to make the students aware about the necessity of conserving environment, rich flora and fauna of the area.He said teaching fraternity must help students to inculcate the habit of maintaining clean surroundings. He called for encouraging use of bio-degradable products which is indispensable to eco-friendly development.Highlighting the steps taken to increase footfall of tourists, the Minister informed that two ponds in the vicinity of Jasrota Wildlife Sanctuary constructed during the reign of Jasrota Empire will be revived at an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore and the work will commence soon. He said the facility of battery car will be started soon for the convenience of visiting tourists.
The Minister said the process of acquiring over 5000 kanals of land has been completed near Ranjit Sagar Dam Reservoir where tourist amenities like parks and residential huts will be constructed. He said the department is going to start steamer service in Ranjit Sagar Dam Reservoir which will further increase the footfall of tourists in the area.Lal Singh also disclosed that 1 lakh plant saplings will be planted in Jasrota Wildlife Sanctuary to cater to the needs of wildlife. He said the massive plantation drive alongside national highway has been taken up to increase the green cover which will help in curbing carbon emissions.Students from different colleges and schools also participated in the symposium organized on the theme of ‘Environment Preservation’. A nukkad natak on hazards of pollution was also presented by college students.Earlier Chairman, Pollution Control Board Ravi Kesar, Director Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing O P Sharma, Principal GDC Kathua Netar Singh spoke on different aspects of the Ecology, environment and its impacts on human lives besides best practices for its preservation.Chief Wildlife Warden, Suresh Chugh, Director Social Forestry A.K Gupta, MD SSC Suresh Kumar Sharma, Director SFIC B.M Sharma, JD PCB Shoukat Choudhary, JD Soil Conservation Regional Wildlife Warden Santul Kumar, ACR Kathua Jatinder Mishra, staff of school and colleges and large number of students were present on the occasion.