The Darjeeling district administration, in association with the Kurseong forest division and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), has taken initiatives to conserve nature and biodiversity.
Sources in the administration said on Thursday that the initiatives involved the rejuvenation of jhoras (hill streams), conservation of the Himalayan salamander’s habitats and declaration of Dowhill Pine Forest ecotourism spot as a plastic-free zone.
Darjeeling district magistrate Preeti Goyal, GTA chief executive Anit Thapa, divisional forest officer (DFO) Devesh Pandey, subdivisional forest officer Teja Deepak, and other officials and representatives of rural bodies in the Kurseong subdivision joined a plantation programme under the stream rejuvenation project at Kalipokhri on Thursday.
“The plantation programme was carried out in the catchment areas of waterbodies for their restoration and to ensure ample greenery to conserve the habitats of endangered Himalayan salamanders. Around 100 Himalayan salamanders were spotted at Kalipokhri,” said Pandey.
Kalipokhri, which is situated at an elevation of 5,500 feet above sea level at Chitrey in the subdivision, serves as one of the major sources of water in the hill subdivision. It is also marked as one of the hotspots of the Himalayan salamander (Tylototriton Himalayanus), which faces a decline in population because of climate change and the disappearance of wetlands in the hills.
According to the DFO, the Darjeeling district has around 45 hill streams which serve as major sources of water supply for the residents. Around 10 of them are in the Kurseong subdivision, and 1,500 saplings will be planted to preserve the streams.
Pandey also declared the Dowhill Pine Forest ecotourism spot near Kurseong a “no plastic zone” from Thursday.
The joint forest management committee (JFMC), which takes care of the ecotourism spot, has vowed to prevent the use of plastic in the locality with the help of the Kurseong panchayat samiti.
“The representatives of the JFMC and the rural body have signed a memorandum of understanding to make the ecotourism spot free of plastic,” the forester said.
On Thursday, a skill development training programme on homestay operation and hospitality training, entrepreneurship and garment manufacturing was also conducted to provide jobs to hill youths under the Utkarsha Bangla scheme. The training was held at the Subhash Ghishing community hall in Kurseong.