World Environment Day Celebrated by Puri Wildlife Division
Kakatpur: World Environment Day was celebrated on Monday in collaboration between the Puri Wildlife Division and the Astarang Forest Range. The event took place at the premises of M.E. School in Raiberungha village under Astarang block. On this occasion, the MISHTI program (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes) was launched with support from the Government of India and the State Government, aiming at the development and conservation of mangrove forests.
As part of the event, 250 mangrove saplings were planted along the riverbanks near the Bay of Bengal by the attending dignitaries. To make the program successful, several key figures such as State Minister for Sports, Youth Services, Technology, and Home Affairs Tusharkanti Behera, Puri Zilla Parishad Vice-Chairman Swadhin Kumar Nayak, Astarang Block Chairperson Arati Nayak, and District Forest Officer P. Ram Krishna participated. They addressed the gathering and urged people to avoid plastic usage, keep plastic waste out of mangrove areas, promote mangrove development and conservation, maintain a clean environment, and take part in widespread tree plantation drives.
On this occasion, seven emerging individuals from different blocks of Puri district were recognized and honored with the “Prakruti Bandhu” award. Each received a cash reward of ₹10,000 along with a certificate. The awardees included Biswajit Bhat from Astarang, Subash Pradhan from Gop, Badri Mishra from Puri, Somanath Das from Nimapada, Govind Pradhan from Satyabadi, Kashinath Nayak from Krushnaprasad, and Ravindra Swaain.
The event saw the participation of over 500 people, including members of forest protection committees, women’s groups, school students, environmental volunteers, and media personnel. Several senior forest officials and staff were present, including Assistant District Forest Officer Uttam Kumar Gadnayak, Astarang Ranger Ramesh Chandra Jani, Konark Ranger Benudhar Behera, Brahmagiri Ranger Chandra Shekhar Sahu, Forester Sabir Sahu, Biraja Mahapatra, Forest Guards Tapan Kumar Nayak, Babul Mallick, Ravindra Swaain, Manas Kumar Behera, Dilip Nayak, Nirmal Chandra Patra, Bhaba Grahi Sethy, as well as local leaders like Sarpanch Kshirado Kandi and Zilla Parishad Member Saraswati Swaain.
The event was smoothly managed by environmental officer Sobhakar Behera, and the vote of thanks was offered by ACF Uttam Gadnayak.
