Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar felicitates the winners in the closing ceremony of Wildlife Week

Shimla : Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar said that the responsibility of conservation of forest wealth and wildlife lies with all of us and every person needs to contribute in this direction.

The Governor was addressing the closing ceremony of the 71st Wildlife Week organized by the Wildlife Division of Himachal Pradesh Forest Department as the Chief Guest at the historic Gaiety Theater here today.

On the occasion, the Governor gave a meaningful message to the society by duly adopting Western Tragopan (Jujurana) as the first citizen under the scheme of adopting wild animals.He said that the importance of wild animals was more in human life.

Expressing concerns over the current situation, he said that today we thought nature was for our use only. But, we are wrong and said our culture taught us to move forward with nature, he added.“Our culture talks about public welfare which includes wildlife.

Man has become selfish today. We are forgetting the lessons our forefathers taught us. Our culture teaches us to worship plants and wildlife as we believe in the existence of co-life”, said Arlekar.

The Governor appreciated the efforts of the Forest Department for implementing various schemes like adoption of wild animals and said that this scheme should be implemented across the State.

He stressed on bringing awareness about wildlife and said that every person should be associated with this campaign. He expressed concerns over the forest fire. He said that the saplings we plant should be visible in the next year also, only then the plantation drive becomes significant.

He stressed on the need to increase the green cover of the State.On the occasion, the Governor gave away prizes to the winners of various events organized during the Wildlife Week.

Baldev Thakur, owner of Adventure Resort who has adopted Cheetah, Bhushan Thakur and Swarn Abha Jewelers who have adopted a Pheasant were also felicitated during the function.

The restoration program of Pheasant was also telecast live and the Governor took online information from the Forest Department personnel. 10 birds were also released on the occasion.Governor also released Wildlife Souvenir-2022 and Bird Ringing Guide on the occasion.

Earlier, Rajiv Kumar, Principal Chief Conservator of Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Protection welcomed the Governor and informed about the various activities organized throughout the week.

He said that efforts would be made to connect as many people as possible through the videos prepared by the department so that the goal of conservation could be achieved.

He said that Butterfly Park has been established at Pong Dam. He said that these parks would be developed in the State in three phases for which a provision of Rs 75 lakh has been made. A 3D cinema hall has been established at Chail.

Anil Thakur, Additional Chief Conservator of Wildlife welcomed the Governor and Thirumal, Chief Conservator of Wildlife, Shimla presented a vote of thanks.On the occasion, a short play was presented on the topic of wildlife conservation.

Earlier, the Governor also visited the exhibition organized by the Forest Department.Ajay Srivastav, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Forest Force and other officers of Forest Department were also present on the occasion.