Department of Forests & Wildlife, UT of Chandigarh repeatedly & very beautifully committed towards greener and cleaner Chandigarh. The hard work supplemented by sustained campaign and much needed technical inputs have yielded commendable results.
It will be very appropriate to mention that the institutions namely Forest Department, Municipal Corporation, Engineering Department, Punjab University, Chandigarh, NGOs, Resident Welfare Associations, Educational Institutions & farmers and above all, the strong will and farsightedness of the Administration contributed a lot towards the success of this programme.
The contribution, dedication and genuine concern of the proud citizens of the 'City Beautiful' to make the city greener needs special mention. Encouraged by the previous year's results, the Forest Department, Chandigarh in collaboration with Municipal Corporation and Engineering Department, Chandigarh had chalked out a programme to continue the efforts with the renewed zeal during year 2018-19.
In January, 2019 worthy Adviser to the Honble Admnistrator UT Chandigarh Sh Manoj Parida, IAS visited the Nagar Van. His visit boosted the morale of field staffs. He discussed lot of issues related to the management of Forests & Wildlife in Chandigarh. He also appreciated the efficient management practices of the Dept.
Vanmahotsava 2018 was celebrated from 02nd July, 2018, to create awareness among the local people, students, officers and employees of Chandigarh Administration about the importance of tree plantation and save Environment in a befitting manner by all the Greening Agencies. Department of Forests & Wildlife, UT Chandigarh organized various plantation programmes to mark the event and to sensitize the masses for protection and conservation of trees.
An orientation programme for Eco Club incharge teachers was organized by Department of Environment, Chandigarh Administration and Yuvsatta-an NGO on 2nd August, 2018 at New Public School, Chandigarh. Representative teachers from 149 Schools where Eco Clubs are already established participated in the same. Mr. Santosh Kumar, IFS, Director, Department of Environment & Chief Conservator of Forests & Wildlife was the Chief Guest and prominent other participants included Dr. Abdul Qayum, Dy. Conservator of Forests, Mr. RD Singh, Principal of New Public School, Chandigarh and Mr. Pramod Sharma, Coordinator, Yuvsatta.
The week long celebration of Wildlife Week, 2018 was inaugurated by the Department of Forests and Wildlife, UT, Chandigarh on 2nd October, 2018 by organizing a ‘Walk for Wildlife’ trekking at 700 hrs which was flagged off by the Chief Guest, Shri Ajoy Kumar Sinha, IAS, Finance Secretary, UT Chandigarh at Nepli Gate of Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, UT Chandigarh. This trekking event was started from Nepli and culminated at Kansal Log Hut covering a distance of approximately Km in Around 1800 people participated the trek which included School children, general public and large no. of people from Press & Media and other nature enthusiasts.
A âValedictory Functionâ on Wildlife Week Celebration 2018 was organized on 9th October, 2018 at Botanical Garden, Sarangpur. Shri V.P. Singh Badnore, Honâble Governor of Punjab & the Administrator, UT Chandigarh was the Chief Guest and Sh. Parimal Rai, IAS, Adviser to the Administrator, UT Chandigarh was the Guest of Honour. On this occasion, the Chief Guest inaugurated a âFern Houseâ inside the Botanical Garden. The Fern House has been established by the Department for the ex-situ conservation of Fern plants found in the region. The same shall help the students and researchers during their educational trip to this place for botanization.
Front line staff of Forests & wildlife Department is continuously working for the protection and conservation of flora and fauna. Chandigarh Administration had appreciated the working of the department and presented Commendation Certificate to Sh. Pradeep Gulia, Range Forest Officer on 15th August, 2018 for his outstanding services in the Department.
Department of Forest & Wildlife, Chandigarh Administration alongwith Yuvsatta-an NGO launched a fortnight long 'Migratory Bird Watching Visits' on 3rd December, 2018 for local School students. On day one 100 students of Carmel Convent School, Chandigarh enjoyed the bird watching fest. Prominent amongst those who were present on the occasion included Mr. Debendra Dalai, IFS, Chief Conservator of Forests & Director, Department of Environment, Mr. TC Nautiyal, IFS, Conservator of Forests, Dr. Abdul Qayum, IFS, Dy. Conservator of Forests, Chandigarh Administration, Mr. Kulbhushan Kanwar, Environmentalist & Pramod Sharma, Coordinator, Yuvsatta.
Mr. Debendra Dalai inaugurating the initiative said that "Nobody is allowed to play loud music or burst firecrackers near the lake and the sanctuary as that might disturb their lifestyle. And migratory birds come from places like Siberia, China and Afghanistan. These are brahmi ducks, common pochards, red-crusted pochards, grebes, geese, shell ducks, marsh ducks, diving ducks, rails, coots, stilts, hill kingfisher, mallard, pintail, cormorants, Siberian ducks, cranes, storks and sandpipers. He further emphasized on need for conservation of nature and responsibility of the entire society towards nature and nature conservation.
Human-Wildlife Conflict has become one of the serious problems. Due to loss of Habitat, Habitat degradation, some of the wild animals i.e. Monkeys, Sambhar, Neelgai, Biju etc. are coming out of forest area and invading in city area.
To manage this problem, Department of Forests & Wildlife has constitut ed a full time wildlife squad operating 24 Ă 7.
Department of Environment, Chandigarh Administration and Yuvsatta-an NGO organized a Nature Camp for Girls of Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Chandigarh on 18th February, 2019 at Nagar Van (City Forest) behind Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh. And almost all 50 participating students and teachers discovered for the first time that such a beautiful and green mini-forest full of rich flora and fauna of this region exists amidst the hustle and bustle of Chandigarh city.
Sh. Debendra Dalai, IFS, Chief Conservator of Forests & Director, Department of Environment and Dr. Abdul Qayum, IFS, Dy. Conservator of Forests, Chandigarh Administration also joined on the occasion and together along with the young students they planted a Peepal & Banyan Tree at City Forest.
âNature Bird Walk' in the Bird Park area on monthly basis started from the month of August, 2018. It is conducted on every 3rd Sunday of the month in association with Chandigarh Bird Club as per Calendar provided on the website in Nagar Van (City Forest) behind Sukhna Lake. It is aimed to raise awareness about the different species of birds amongst the general public. Anyone can participate in this walk by applying online or through submitting the registration form manually in the office. Department conducts this activity with the support of Sh. Narbir Singh Kahlon and local bird watchers. Forests Department provides spotting scope and binoculars facility to the visitors to see the birds closely. Interpretive boards are also installed along the track to educate the visitors. Birds like Common pochard, Tufted pochard, Rudy shellduck, Northern pintail, Northern shoveller, Mallard, Greylag goose, Bar headed goose, Gargney, Teal, Dartars etc. can be easily seen in the Nagar Van area and facilities provided by the Department serves a great purpose in educating local youth & college going students especially.
