In what has been seen as an attempt to maintain the world heritage site, ministry of environment and forest is going to embark upon its ambitious plan to involve corporate houses to fund conservation initiative in Manas National Park in Assam.
Referring Manas National Park which regained its world heritage site status at the Unesco’s 35th World Heritage Committee (WHC) meeting in Paris last month, the additional DG (wildlife) of ministry of environment and forest, Jagdish Kishwan, told reporters, “We should be leveraging corporate sectors regarding funds for Manas. There is a scope to involve corporate sectors in the conservation initiatives for Manas through financing under corporate social responsibility.”
With the Manas Tiger Conservation Foundation that would directly handle funds from the Centre for tiger reserves, he pointed out that corporate funding is one of the options the ministry is exploring so that the WHC’s recommendations on conservation measures of the national park is properly implemented.
Mr Kishwan had a meeting with state forest department officials, Bodoland Territorial Council representatives and NGOs here on Sunday on the key recommendations.
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3 jawans killed in gunfight
age CORRESPONDENT
SRINAGAR
July 31: Three Army jawans were killed and two others wounded in a firefight with Islamic militants raging in a mountain pass in frontier Kupwara district since Saturday evening, officials here aid.
A defence spokesperson here said that a group of militants had apparently sneaked into the Indian side of line of control from PoK and when challenged by Indian troops deployed at forward “Temple Post” at Furkian Gali, the heavily-armed militants opened fire killing two troops instantly and wounding three others. One of the injured later died in a hospital, it said.
Spokesperson Lt. Col. J. S. Brar said the soldiers of 19 Rajput Rifles of the Army noticed movement of heavily-armed militants near the forward post on Saturday evening. “The infiltrating terrorists were challenged by our alert jawans but they opened fire triggering a fierce encounter,” he said. The injured soldiers were airlifted to 92 base hospital at Badamibagh Cantonment in Srinagar where one of them died of gunshot wounds.
Sources in Kupwara said that the militants are reported to have managed to break free from the Army cordon and might have slipped back across the LoC to PoK.