ZIRO, 15 Feb: An expedition cum cleanliness drive was organised by the Hapoli Forest Division, in collaboration with Ngunu Ziro at Tale Wildlife Sanctuary from 10 to 13 February here in Lower Subansiri district.
The event included the cleaning of the Pange riverbank which lies at the boundary of the sanctuary.
An expedition comprising of the members of the forest department and Ngunu Ziro, a local conservation-based NGO, trekked up to Tale valley to continue the cleanliness drive there.
Tale Valley is one of the most diverse bio-diverse spots in the state with an astounding diversity of butterflies, birds, orchids, rhododendrons, ferns and rare medicinal herbs. The area is also revered in folklores of the Apatani tribe as being the area “where the first men and women from the tribe had settled before finally migrating to Ziro valley.”
The drive was inaugurated by Deputy Commissioner Swetika Sachan at Pange camp in the presence of Divisional Forest Officer Abhinav Kumar, EAC BaminTarang, RFO Tale WLS Ngilyang Tachang and members of Ngunu Ziro.
The deputy commissioner advised the forest department to install dustbins along the banks of the Pange River to minimise littering of plastic and other non-biodegradable items left over by visitors.
The DFO acknowledged the problem of littering in the area and said that plans are underway to regulate the entry of single-use plastics in the sanctuary area in collaboration with an eco-development committee which comprises of local land donors of the area.
Further, he said that dustbins will shortly be installed along the Pange River and penalty would be imposed on visitors who resort to littering the area.
The expedition also saw the participation of Ashish Soni, a researcher from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), who is currently working with the Arunachal Pradesh Regional Centre of BSI at Itanagar.
Soni, who is currently researching on fern species found in Lower Subansiri district, helped in the identification of 64 species of ferns during the three-day expedition, including the rare Polystichumpolyodon, which is endemic to the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
A rare species of bird, the Eurasian Woodcock, which was hitherto never spotted in the Tale WLS, was also photographed by Koj Mama of Ngunu Ziro. (DIPRO)
