7th Northeast Butterfly Meet concludes at Raimona National Park

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: The 7th edition of the Northeast Butterfly Meet was successfully conducted in Raimona National Park from October 22 to October 24. The programme was inaugurated by Ranjit Basumatary, EM of Forest, BTC on October 22 at the Heritage IB, Kachugaon.

The inauguration programme was also attended by Jiron Basumatary, MLA of Gossaigaon LAC, Dharanidhar Boro, Assam Gaurav Awardee, Raju Narzary, general secretary, UPPL and many dignitaries. The event was organized by Butterflies of NE India Group in collaboration with the Government of BTC and NGOs like ATREE, WWF-India, WTI, Aaranyak, SEED, flutters.org, Ngunu Ziro, BECT, BAMOS and Wiki Love Butterflies.

A total of 71 participants from various states of India viz. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam participated in the event. Around 25 students who are pursuing MSc in Wildlife Science and research scholars pursuing PhD degrees from Gauhati University and Bodoland University also participated in the event. Six members from local EDCs were also involved in the programme to initiate butterfly tourism in Raimona National Park.

During this event, participants visited Pepsu and Ranga Nadi areas of Raimona National Park to observe butterflies. More than 190 species of butterflies were recorded in Raimona National Park by the participants and experts. Out of which some very interesting findings were Brown Onyx, Yerbury Sailer, Yellow Jack Sailer, Common Shot Silverline, Hooked Awlking, and Double-banded Crow and some of them are a new record for NE India (previously known till West Bengal), said Dr Monsoon Jyoti Gogoi, also one of the organizers. Participants also visited the famous Ultapani area of Chirang RF and observed many other important species of butterflies.

Tshulthrim, the Butterfly Man of Bhutan, attended the event and said that there was a need of a Transboundary Indo-Bhutan butterfly survey in the future and such butterfly meets with community initiative was also needed in Bhutan. Nawang G Bhutia, Butterfly Man of Sikkim, declared that the next edition of the Northeast butterfly meet would be held in Sikkim and Butterfly & Moths of Sikkim Nature Conservation Society (BAMOS) would host the event next year. Roshan Upadhaya, Butterfly Man of Arunachal Pradesh, attended the event and emphasized the tourism potential of the area and the need for more tourist guide training, including jeep safari. Brojo Kumar Basumatary, one of the organizers, said that the event aimed to raise awareness about biodiversity conservation and to boost tourism potential in the region. After the peace accord, Bodoland has become one of the most peaceful regions and the programme will bear the message across the country, said Kamal Azad, one of the organizers.

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