RAJMAI (Sivasagar), Jan 21 ? The year-long Panidihing Birds? Festival 2003, the first of its kind in India, got-off to a colourful start today with the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi lighting the ceremonial lamp in the inaugural function at Rajmai, 10 km from Panidihing Birds Sanctuary proper, under the broad wings of a huge bamboo-made image of a Ruddy sheldrake (Tadorna ferruginea) ? the logo of the festival. In his inaugural address Sri Gogoi lauded the effort of the organisers and the local people in and around Panidihing for arousing mass awareness about conservation of nature, especially birds. He said that there might be some justification for man-elephant conflict, but there should not be any bird-man conflict since birds do immense help to humans and are never harmful.
The Chief Minister said that the present government is working to link up the states indigenous resources ? the mighty and mesmerising Brahmaputra, the rainforests, forests, Majuli and cultures with the tourism industry. There was a 70 per cent increase in tourists inflow last year, he added. He lamented that misconception and misinformation galore outside the State have hampered the growth of the tourism sector. Sri Debananda Konwar, Minister for Power, in his welcome address said that our society is inseparably linked with birds. He recited the famous slokas of Valmiki ?Ma nishada tama gama saswati ...? and said that our poetic world had its inclination towards birds.
Sri Pradyut Bardoloi, Minister for Forest, release the souvenir brought out on the occasion, which is edited by H N Gogoi, additional deputy commissioner, Sivasagar. In his speech he said that the Panidihing chapter and the charter presented to the CM will be a pathfinder for the government?s policy on matters of conservation. Prior to that about a hundred schoolgirls presented a long charter with signatures of one lakh citizens for regenerating people?s awareness towards bird conservation and plan of action to be taken up in Panidihing Birds Sanctuary, a 33.93 sqkm wetland area.
Dr Arshad Rahmani, Director, Bombay Natural History Society, attending the festival as a guest of honour, in his speech said that biologically Assam is a very important place and Panidihing is very important ornithologically because about 500 to 600 species of a total of 5000 bare-headed goose (anser indicus) and 80 per cent of a total of four to five hundred adjutant storks (leptoplitos dubius and L javanicus) present in the world are found in Panidihing and the nearby areas. Besides, he said, the larger whistling teaps have their breeding ground in Panidihing. Sivasagar Deputy Commissioner Smt Gayatri Borua presided over the inaugural function.