ITANAGAR, 14 Nov: The East Siang district unit of the Adi Bane Kebang (ABK-ESDU) organised awareness programmes on the Scheduled Tribe Recommendation Committee (SCRC), the drug menace, and environment and wildlife protection at Ayeng village in Mebo circle on 10 November, and at Yagrung village in Yargung circle on 12 November.
The programmes were part of the ongoing month-long awareness campaign being organised by the ABK-ESDU in nine blocks, covering 77 villages, in East Siang district.
Mebo ADC Einstein Koyu, Mebo CHC MO Dr Mingge Pertin, and DFO (Wildlife) Tasang Taga were the resource persons at the programme in Ayeng village.
“In the wake of issuance of ST certificates to bonafide scheduled tribe people, the administration is writing proposals to the government regarding the bottleneck and hurdles in the issuance of the same and it’s high time for every stakeholder to input suggestion to the administration which could be included in the proposal,” said Koyu.
He said that, “unlike the earlier system, wherein any administrative officer like CO, EAC, etc, could issue ST certificates to the heir of an ST holder, based on their parents, within a short period, the present system is technical and a tedious one.”
“The competent authorities like DC, independent EAC and SDO will only issue ST certificates and there shall be a recommending committee consisting of panchayat members/GPCs, GBs/HGBs and members of the ABK in the context of East Siang,” he said, adding that “the verifying committee would consist of CO, EAC, police station OC, and one government official, which, unless satisfied, would consult the GBs or ABK for any doubt.”
The DFO in his address said that the abundance of rich and rare flora and fauna in Arunachal Pradesh makes it the ultimate place to visit for wildlife tourists.
“Although more than 3,000 species of fauna and more than 5,000 species of flora are recorded in the state, rampant felling of trees, illegal extraction of medicinal plants, and merciless killing of birds and animals have made many species endangered and on the verge of extinction,” he said, and urged the people to desist from illegal hunting of birds and animals and illegal felling of trees.
He also apprised the villagers of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1982, “by which defaulters will be booked and punished under appropriate section of the law.”
Dr Pertin informed the youths that, “in addition to marijuana, opium, brown sugar and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the local apong is also counted as drugs.”
He said that “whoever produces, cultivates, possesses, transports, stores, or consumes any narcotic drug listed under psychotropic substances are treated to have committed a crime or offence under the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and punishable, which may lead to imprisonment for a minimum period of 3-6 months with a fine of Rs 10,000 and a maximum of 10 years with a fine of 2 lakhs and above.”
He appealed to those who wish to quit drugs to approach the designated de-addiction centre, where they would receive proper counselling to start a new life.
At Yagrung, ABK-ESDU president Dijhi Tamuk, ABAK-ESDU president Oming Jamoh Pertin, and ABK (apex) tourism & environment secretary Talut Siram created awareness among the villagers and students about the topics concerned.
Siram spoke about “the prospect of preservation of wildlife and environment, which otherwise will jeopardise this heavenly Earth in next 10 to 15 years.”
Anti-drug activist Gumin Mize condemned drug peddlers and users, and urged every parent to cooperate with him. He said that he would submit a letter to the East Siang district medical officer to “issue prohibitory order to NGOs that issues syringes to people free of cost, and also not to issue any OSD to aggrieved parents; rather, directly administer it to the drug addicted person by the office.”
ABK-ESDU public relations secretary Boyem Jerang said that “the ABK-ESDU will continue this awareness campaign by annunciating the message to the last man of the last village in the district.”
