SEIJOSA, 19 Jan: The 10th edition of the Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) began at Darlong here in Pakke-Kessang district on Saturday. It is a three-day annual event that takes place from 18-20 January.
Showcasing exchange of cultural diversity, cultural troupes of Bodo, Nepali and Adivasi communities of Assam bordering Seijosa participated in the festival. A display of Bodo mega dance was showcased on the first day of the festival, which was attended by, among others, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife and Biodiversity) Ngilyang Tam.
The Bodo dance, which showcased the conservation of butterflies, was followed by a Gorkha dance, and traditional dances of Galo and Nyishi communities.
During the event, the biannual magazine of the Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR) was also launched, showcasing the rich biodiversity of the PTR, and a video on the PTR was also released.
PTF Divisional Forest Officer Satyaprakash Singh informed that conservation activities such as butterfly identification, screening of wildlife documentaries, birdwatching, a panel discussion, and a workshop are the other highlights of the PPHF.
He lauded the state government’s initiative of enhancing the ex gratia amount related to human-animal conflicts.
ADC (i/c) Kessang Wangdi reflected on the importance of conservation. “The idea of conservation should not be limited to documentation but one should practice conservation,” he said.
The event was attended by Pakke-Kessang District Intellectual Forum members, Pijerang ZPM Tana Naya, members of NGO Trigonometry, and others.
A group of bikers, under the banner of ‘Super Bikes’, also participated in the first day of the festival. The team donated Rs 1 lakh to the PTR DFO for the hornbill nest adoption programme.
Day one of the PPHF also featured a birdwatching sessionin the morning, followed by a field exercise led by Dr Apurba Chakraborty and Dr Amitava Majumder from the Zoological Survey of India on the second day.
Traditional games and sports were also part of the event.
Other programmes included a session on ‘Find your missing half’ by nature educator Peeyush Sekhsaria, and a session on ‘Building skills: Identification of birds’ by Dr Apurba Chakraborty, followed by screening of wildlife documentaries by Dhritiman Mukherjee and Chandan Ri, biologist at the PTR.
A panel discussion on human-wildlife conflict and the culture of the PTR was moderated by Tippi Range RFO Kime Rambia. The panellists included PCCF Research Officer Tajum Yomcha, Conservator of Forest and Wildlife Damodar, NES Seijosa unit chairman Loli Kino, and All Pakke-Kessang District Students’ Union president Jacob Tana.
