Minister Th Biswajit launches Save Singda Movement

Last Updated on February 17, 2023 by SPN Editor

Manipur Forest Minister Th Biswajit Singh on Monday launched the “Save Singda Movement”, a participatory plantation in collaboration with the Forest Department. This was aimed to conserve the catchment area of Singda.

Biswajit tweeted, ” Taking care of mother earth is our responsibility & for nurturing our #environment, it is crucial to plant more trees!

Took part in Save Singda Movement, a participatory plantation launched by Forest Dept. at Singda Catchment area organized by Kangpokpi Forest Dept. today.”

Speaking during the launching function Th Biswajit has said that though Chief Minister N Biren instructed for plantation of 75 tree saplings, the Forest Department is targeting for plantation of 1 crore tree saplings in various areas of the state, especially in different catchment areas.

Due to the impact of global warming icebergs have melted and the people of the state have also witnessed unpredicted weather phenomena. To sustain the movement against global warming, the state forest department has also been taking various steps for years. However, it will be hard to conserve forests without assistance and initiatives from the public.

He said the involvement and cooperation of each citizen are necessary in order to save forests and sustain ecological balance. The forest department will continue planting tree saplings by identifying various catchment areas, including Koubru hill and others.

The minister appealed to the civil society organisation, NGOs, local clubs, and others to cooperate with each other and take the initiatives to plant at least one tree sapling each.

The event saw mass participation from village authority leaders and villagers of the nearby villages namely Ireng Naga, Bethel, Kharam Thadoi, Kharam Vaiphei, youth clubs, student unions, and NGOs under KfW-COSFOM Project.

It is said that given the huge dependency of Imphal valley over the Singda Dam, the conservation of the watershed is essential and the department is planning to target 10 percent of the watershed area, apart from the afforestation being done by KfW project. It is therefore important for the local to take active role in Save Singda movement.

The Minister also interacted with the Kangchup Area Tribal Youth Organization members and Zillai Kangpokpi District Members. The interaction was deliberated on the prudent purpose of forest land usage, mitigation of doubts and confusion on afforestation and acknowledgment of weakness and loopholes in the area, etc.