Jorhat, Jan. 21: Thirteen poachers surrendered before chief minister Tarun Gogoi today to mark the beginning of what is dubbed as the first step towards protection of birds in Assam.
The poachers, who earned their livelihood by catching migratory birds and selling them in nearby markets, pledged before the chief minister that they would not catch birds in the future. The new awakening was witnessed at the inaugural ceremony of the bird festival on the bank of the Brahmaputra at Bahona on the outskirts of Jorhat.
What convinced the poachers to give up their ways was a 100-metre-long memorandum, containing over a lakh signatures of villagers residing along the Brahmaputra, which was submitted to the chief minister. The signatories pledged to do their best to protect birds and also called upon the government to take the necessary steps in this regard.
?It is a mass awakening. In fact, all the people from my village signed the memorandum. I cannot go against them,? said Diganta Das, a bird-catcher from Nemati. As a goodwill gesture, zila parishad president Rana Goswami announced a package from the individual beneficiary scheme to rehabilitate the poachers.
?This marks the beginning of our commitment towards protection of birds and Nature,? Gogoi said. He said the bird festival is probably the first of its kind in the country where mass awareness has been awakened for protection of birds.
Gogoi said the government would soon embark upon a plan to plant trees in viable areas.
in the state. This would not only restore the ecological balance but would also be economically beneficial.
Arshad R. Rehmani, director of the Bombay Natural History Society, said holding such festivals in Assam was significant as of the 1,224 species of birds in India, 900 were found in Assam.
The two-day festival is being held at Sivasagar and Jorhat simultaneously. The 200-km stretch of marshy land along the Brahmaputra from Kaziranga National Park to Panidihing is a corridor of migratory birds.