Department of Wildlife Protection organized a trekking expedition to Nandini Wildlife Sanctuary.The group of 100 trekkers was flagged off by Suresh Kumar Gupta, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, J&K. The participants included students and faculty from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, retired officers, youth and nature enthusiasts.The expedition started at 9.00 AM and completed by 1.00 PM. The Department had set up souvenir counter at the start of the trek near old Nandini tunnel. At the culmination point at Bail Khad, locals had set up refreshments counters for the participants.
Earlier, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Wildlife informed that the Department has taken initiative to promote Eco-tourism in wildlife area. He appealed to Civil Society to support this initiative as it encourages nature and wildlife conservation and helps in improving livelihood of local communities.Dr. Kumar M.K, Chief Conservator of Forests briefed about “does and don’t” to the participants.He highlighted the importance of Nandini Wildlife Sanctuary which has rich biodiversity. Nandini Wildlife Sanctuary is home to important wildlife species like Barking deer, Goral, Leopard, Neelgai, Peacock, Jungle fowl etc;O. P Sharma Vidyarthi (Retired PCCF) and Tree Talk crusader enlightened the participants about various species en-route the trek. He briefed about unique flora and fauna of the area.The programme was conducted by Sh. Anil Atri, Wildlife Warden, Jammu.