Meghalaya kicks off environment week celebration

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 3, 2022

The celebration of the Environment Week kick-started in the state on Friday.

As part of the celebration, a cherry blossom tree plantation at Shillong Golf Course was organized by the Social Forestry & Environment Wing in collaboration with Shillong Club, Department of Sociology, Lady Keane College and Education Department, NEHU.

Various stakeholders and students took part in the tree plantation programme.

Addressing the occasion, Forest and Environment Minister James K Sangma acknowledged the initiative taken by the organizers to plant trees along the periphery of the Shillong Golf Course, adding that preserving the greenery of this Green Island of Shillong city is the need of the hour in order to bring this patch of land to its natural glory.

The planting of 1500 Cherry Blossom Trees should relay a strong message to the citizens that climate change should be taken seriously, said the Minister. He reiterated that the save environment campaign should not end here and we should shy away from tokenism, symbolism and imbibe this commitment in our everyday lives. ‘Everyday should be Environment Day’, said the Minister, while urging the students and millennial to dedicate themselves to save planet earth.

While lamenting the fact that the forest cover in the State has reduced by 73 sq kms, the Minister said that we as stakeholders should start to move ahead and find solutions on how to tackle climate change. He said that in these last three years, the Government has transitioned from just regulating the acts and rules to design out of the box solutions and interventions.

For this, the Minister said that the government is cooperating and collaborating with communities to ‘use nature to solve nature’s problem’ while citing example of the Phytoremediation method to detoxify the Lukha river where Algae was used to remove major toxic contents from the water to improve the pH balance of the river.

The Minister urged upon each individual to shoulder the responsibility along with the government to tackle climate change by working towards restoration of nature’s valuable resources and to rededicate ourselves to save our planet Earth.

The highlight of the day was the distribution of Meghalaya Excellence Award for Environment Protection to Tambor Lyngdoh of Dongiewrim Mawphlang for his effort to protect and preserve the natural resources in private and community forests and to Ka Synjuk ki Hima Arliang Wah Umiam Mawphlang Welfare Society Dongiewrim Mawphlang for setting up of grassroot level organisation for motivating people in conserving the environment and promoting sustainable use of natural resources. The award carried a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh and a memento.

Prizes were also distributed to students who took part in the drawing, painting, elocution and slogan writing competition.

The Office of the Deputy Commissioner, East Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA), District Project Management Unit (DPMU), East Khasi Hills District in collaboration with Meghalaya Model United Nations organised a Debate Competition which saw the participation of 8 (eight) schools, on 3^rd June, 2022 at KJP Assembly Conference Hall, MRB Head Office, IGP Point, Shillong.