Gopalkrishna Gandhi enjoys the beauty of the Jainti and the hills across the river. Picture by Anirban Choudhury

Jainti (Alipurduar), Jan. 7: The Bengal governor today praised the forest officers for the measures they had taken for the conservation of forest and protection of wildlife.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who reached the forest rest house in Jainti under Buxa Tiger Reserve (East) Division with his wife Tara, was enchanted by the beauty of the area and enquired with the officers about the activities of forest protection councils.

This is the first visit by the governor to the Buxa Tiger Reserve. Yesterday, they reached Holong Bungalow in Jaldapara about 5.45pm. The couple were received by the forest officers.

About 7pm, Gandhi and his wife entered the sanctuary and watched sambar, rhinos, elephants and a leopard. Later, they returned to the bungalow and took dinner.

Today, the Gandhis reached the rest house in Jainti around 11.30am. They were overwhelmed to see the Jainti that is flowing on one side of the rest house and the hill and forest across the river.

The governor was curious to know why the area is called Jainti.

Gandhi told journalists that he had enjoyed the trip to Jaldapara as he could spot bison, rhinos, elephants and leopards. “Foresters here are doing an excellent job in protecting the animals and their habitats. I thought of spending 24 hours in Jaldapara, but could not stay so long. I will visit many places in the tiger reserve and plan to trek to the historical Buxa Fort.”

The governor also visited the Vulture Rehabilitation Centre, run by Bombay Natural History Society, at Rajabhatkhawa.

Minister of state for public works Manohar Tirkey and Alipurduar MLA Nirmal Das met Gandhi at the rest house.

The MLA submitted a memorandum to Gandhi, demanding that Alipurduar be made a district immediately.