Govt. Degree College Sidhra Sidhra

Celebration Of International Day For Biological Diversity At Environment Park Raika

2023-05-23

Department of Environmental Sciences and ECO-CLUB “SRISHTI” of GDC Sidhra in collaboration with Department of Ecology, Environment and Remote sensing organised one day Programme to celebrate International Day for Biological Diversity at Environment Park Raika:
The juggernaut of urbanization and the concomitant changes in the lifestyle have endangered our rich biodiversity. Many species are endangered and are at the verge of extinction. Same is the case with our age-old knowledge system and specially alarming is the imminent loss of local linguistic expressions related to flora and fauna and other aspects of nature. Department of Environmental Sciences and ECO-CLUB “SRISHTI” of Government Degree College Sidhra in collaboration with Department of Ecology, Environment and Remote sensing organised one day Programme to celebrate International Day for Biological Diversity at Environment Park Raika on 22nd May 2023 and the theme for this year is “From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity”. The event was joint venture initiated by Principal GDC Sidhra, Dr. B B Anand and Director Ecology Environment and Remote Sensing, J&K, Sh. S Rakesh Kumar. The Chief guest for the event was Sh. Om Prakash Vidyarthi ji (IFS), former Principal Chief Conservator Forests, J&K Forests Department and Director Department of Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing (DEERS (J&K). Jenab Saleem-Ul-Haq (SFS), Environment and Soil Conservationist, DEERS and other officials from the same department were also present in the event. The programme started with a welcome address by Dr. Anshu Gupta, Head Department of Environmental Sciences and Convenor ECO-Club “Srishti” of the college. Principal of the college, Dr. B B Anand welcomed the guests by presenting flowers and mementos to OP Sharma Vidyarthi ji and Sh. Saleem -Ul-Haq as a token of respect. Dr. B B Anand in his address talked about the importance of this day and need to conserve biodiversity. Proceeding further OP Sharma Vidyarthi ji began his “Tree Talk” by sharing the information about International Day for Biological Diversity and how it is related with the cultural diversity of different places. He also deliberated about the scientific, historical, religious & social background of different local species of flora-fauna and their medicinal importance was also discussed. He also laid stress on the need to cultivate the local plant species and to revive the plant based local knowledge. He sensitized the students towards Environmental Conservation, Environmental Sanitation, conservation of biodiversity, planting of indigenous plant species of human value and morale. Further he also demonstrated samples of rare plant species and products and made the students aware about their medicinal and nutritional values and distributed some samples among the students and faculty. Another activity of the event was garland making out of plant products like leaves, flowers, buds, fruits and insects, feathers etc. Students made very beautiful garlands and displayed them in the gathering. The programme culminated with formal vote of thanks presented by Prof. Deepa Kak, Co-convenor Eco-Club GDC Sidhra The event was organised by Dr. Anshu Gupta, Prof. Deepa Kak, Dr. Anu Sharma, Tania Baloria members ECO-Club of the college with the active support and co-ordination of Dr. Harpreet Kour, Dr. Mehmood Ahmed, NSS Program Officer of the college; Prof. Shonima Malhotra, Dr. Satbir Kour & Prof. Rudrika Khajuria. The event was organised under the aegis of IQAC, G20, Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav under Mission LiFE. Around 60 students and Faculty members participated in the event with full enthusiasm and had a healthy interaction.