[ Prafulla Kaman ]
RUKSIN, 19 Sep: In an effort to develop wetlands in the state, the Arunachal Charity Society (ACS), a Pasighat-based NGO engaged in avenue plantation, has taken step to grow aquatic plant species, locally known as siimir, in the wetlands along the interstate boundary with Assam’s Dhemaji district.
ACS president Jobang Modi said that “the siimir plants, reproduced through vegetative reproduction, develop wetlands by maintaining its ecosystem, besides providing shelter to many aquatic birds. The plant species is rarely found in the wetlands and water bodies of low-lying areas in upper Arunachal districts.”
Modi said that he has “made official communication for identification of the species and determination of its economic value.”
He has also conducted preliminary surveys of the
wetlands along the boundary area and taken steps for plantation of the tree species “on an experimental basis” this year.
Modi has set up a small mother nursery of siimir plant in the Jonai-Mohmara wetland in Assam’s Dhemaji district, wherein the plants are seen growing luxuriantly.
In 2018, Modi’s NGO had launched plantation of an evergreen tree species, identified as Chionanthus ramiflorus, in different parts of East Siang district.
According to botanists, the evergreen plants release sufficient oxygen into the air through photosynthesis.
Modi said that he is making “a humble effort to enhance the greenery of the state to reduce global warming.”
His wife, Omeng Apum Modi, who is leading the ‘Bonny Green Revolution’, is also involved with the plantation activities taken up by the charity society.
