Sendenyu village in Kohima district has turned itself into a biodiversity conservation and ecotourism destination of Nagaland.
The village is recognised not only in the state and the country as a tourism destination but it is also included in the world map of biodiversity conservation.
Adding a new leaf to the village’s feather, Nagaland’s rural development department’s commissioner and secretary Neposo Theluo inaugurated the rejuvenated Nsonji Lake Project under MGNREGS in the village recently.
Theluo gave credit for the success of the project to the patience and unity of the community.
He congratulated village development boards of Sendenyu New, Thongsü-Sendenyu and Lotsüphün and the Centenary Memorial Park Committee for judiciously utilising the funds provided by the rural development department and completing the remarkable project in such a short period, joint director, rural development, K. Neibou Sekhose said.
Theluo was all praise for the community for developing the area as a biodiversity conservation and eco-tourism destination.
He challenged them to strive harder to make it an eco-tourism hotspot.
Stating that the village is blessed with vast land, both hilly and low, with immense potential for development, he hoped that very soon the village would not only be recognised as a bio-diversity village but also as a research centre of excellent learning.
He also encouraged the villages to prepare a master plan and vision document for the future.
Highlighting the project profile, the chairman of Sendenyu Baptist Church Centenary Memorial Park Management Committee, Gwasinlo Thong said the primary objective of the project was to fully restore the Nsonji lake and its ecosystem.
Besides, it was aimed at providing wage employment to the MGNREGA workers while keeping a vision of developing it into a part of ecotourism destination for its sustainability and economy of the stakeholders.
He said the project was implemented during the period 2019-20 to 2020-21 with a total project cost of Rs 42.98 lakh, generating 15,003 person days.
Rural development director Imnukshila Jamir congratulated the village for the various awards it received at the national and international level in recent years for excellence in its efforts towards conservation of biodiversity.
Appreciating the way the community has taken up ways for environmental conservation, she urged them to continue to make efforts in the protection our biodiversity and work out ways to conserve our natural habitat and rich flora and fauna.