Skirmishes on bird-hunting attempt leading to firing which left one person injured and felling of two exotic Shimalu trees in two different parts of Lakhimpur district jolted the celebration of World Environment Day on Wednesday.
While the entire district was observing the very day with various programmes like plantation of saplings and other activities, there was an attempt to hunt and kill wild birds in Bishnupur on Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary in Lakhimpur.
The incident took place at Bishnupur under Narayanpur Police Station of the district when two youths from neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh were prevented by some locals in the area while they were hunting birds in a forest.
The intervention led to a skirmish in which one of the two youths from Arunachal Pradesh opened fire.
One Tankeswar Bora of Bishnupur was injured in the firing.
A large crowd converged on the spot following the firing incident which detained the two accused and called the police.
A police team led by the officer-in-charge of Narayanpur Police Station James V. Chimte arrested the two youths identified as Nabam Rebiya and Talo Magriya.
The police recovered two air guns and a two-wheeler with registration No AR-01H-0213 from the two arrested youths.
In another incident on the World Environment Day, miscreants felled two exotic Shimalu trees in Bebejia area under Ghilamora Police Station of Dhakuwakhona sub-division of Lakhimpur district.
The incident took place at Bebejia Chariali along the Dhakuwakhona-Ghunasuti PWD Road near Bebejia Kaiwartta ME School.
The trees were felled with the help of chain saw in the morning hours of the day which was noticed by the school children who were coming back from World Environment Day programmes after planting some saplings.
Amidst the sloganeering for more green cover and pollution-free air on the World Environment Day, the Lakhimpur district administration has completely forgotten the massive plantation drive on the NH-15 by-pass and in other areas in North Lakhimpur set up three years ago.
In August 11, 2016 Debeswar Malakar, the then Deputy Commissioner of Lakhimpur, requested all the departments of North Lakhimpur, including transport, health department, NL Municipality Board and few others to cooperate in making the district greener by planting trees.
The initiative was launched to help in making North Lakhimpur’s environment more sustainable.
The departments were asked to plant saplings in the office premises, NH by-pass and roads including link roads and other nearby areas by August 31, 2016.
The ‘make North Lakhimpur greener’ campaign also asked the state departments to plant trees of local exotic varieties like Azar (avenue tree), Sonaru (Laburnum), Krishna-chura, Radha Chura and so on inside their official premises.
Saplings of such trees were also planted in the under-construction NH-15 by-pass so that the trees could stand up till the road becomes functional.
Since then in the last three years, trees have also grown up in various areas across the district.
But it has been alleged that the subsequent district administration has completely ignored the initiative of increasing the green cover in the district headquarter town in the last three years.