Students of the M.D.K. Girls’ College during the educational tour to Dehing Patkai

Conservation lessons for girls on study tour

Students and teachers of M.D.K. Girls’ College, Dibrugarh made an educational tour to Dehing Patkai wildlife sanctuary and Tirap Colliery recently. Anuradha Kataki, head of the department of English, led the team.

Manisha Rudra Tariang and Bonai Das, lecturers in English, Anirudha Dutta from the department of Assamese and Suresh Bhattacharjee from the department of history accompanied the group.

The students visited the wildlife sanctuary, under Dhirok range, and later went to Tirap colliery. Before starting on the field trip, forest ranger Debakar Deb spoke to the group. Anand Wats, renowned naturalist and senior manager of Margherita tea estate, spoke on the need to conserve the flora and fauna. He also helped identify some bird species.

Anee Baruah, research scholar in the department of life science, Dibrugarh University, spoke about the variety of orchids found in Assam. Rajib Rudra Tariang, head of the deparment of zoology, Margherita College, delivered a lecture on the butterflies and snakes of Dehing Patkai and its surroundings.

Manas Protim Gogoi, a student of Margherita College, also assisted the team in identifying butterflies. Rajen Sarma from the environmental department of Coal India Ltd, spoke on coalfields of this region when the students visited the area.

Connectivity

Assam industry and commerce minister Pradyut Bordoloi made a presentation on the Look  East Policy on Friday where he stressed the need to reopen Stilwell Road (connecting Ledo in the Tinsukia district with Myanmar and China).

Participating in the inaugural session of Sampark-2008 at Tezpur University as the chief guest, he said with improvement in the required infrastructure, the disadvantageous location of the Northeast can be altered to promote trade and commerce. Inaugurating the event, organised by the department of business administration, vice-chancellor Mihir Kranti Chaudhuri emphasised the need for a strong industrial base in the Northeast.

Seminar

The Indo-Canadian Studies Centre of Assam University, Silchar, organised a three-day national seminar on Ethnicity and Conflict Resolution in a Multi-Cultural Society: Canadian and Indian Perspective on February 2-4.

The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute of New Delhi sponsored the event, which was inaugurated by vice-chancellor Tapadhir Bhattacharjee. Margaret Zama of the department of English, Mizoram University, Souri Sengupta, registrar of Assam University, Abhik Gupta, a professor and Dipendu Das, the chairman, addressed the inaugural session.