ITANAGAR, 26 Dec: Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Airgun Surrender Abhiyan in Arunachal, which is aimed at stopping indiscriminate hunting of birds in the state rich in biodiversity.
In his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi said on Sunday: “My dear countrymen, the people of Arunachal have been running a unique campaign for a year and have named it ‘Arunachal Pradesh Airgun Surrender Campaign’. In this campaign, people are voluntarily surrendering their airguns, so that indiscriminate hunting of birds can be stopped.”
“Arunachal Pradesh is home to more than 500 species of birds. These include some indigenous species, which are not found anywhere else in the world. But gradually, now the number of birds in the forests has started declining. This airgun surrender campaign is going on now to rectify this very situation. During the past few months, from the hills to the plains, from one community to the other, people everywhere in the state welcomed it with open arms. The people of Arunachal have voluntarily surrendered more than 1,600 airguns. I commend and congratulate the people of Arunachal for this,” Modi said.
The Airgun Surrender Abhiyan is an initiative of Environment & Forests Minister Mama Natung, inviting people to voluntarily surrender their guns to stop indiscriminate killing of birds in the state.
The campaign was launched on 17 March this year at Lumdung in East Kameng district, where 46 airguns were surrendered.
Since then, the campaign is gaining momentum. So far, 1,672 airguns, eight licenced guns and 11 power chainsaws have been surrendered by the people.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Natung tweeted, thanking the prime minister.
“Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji mentioning about #AirGunSurrender abhiyan initiated by Govt of Arunachal in today’s #MannKiBaat means a lot for the people of the State. A big encouragement towards Arunachal’s conservation effort. Thank you PM,” Khandu tweeted.
Natung wrote: “The Hon’ble PM @narendramodi Ji for acknowledging our wildlife conservation effort; #AirgunSurrenderAbhiyan in his #MannKiBaat. It’s a big moral boost for us & could only be possible under our visionary HCM @PemaKhanduBJP Ji as well as Team Arunachal.”
