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Bengal

'Bengal craftsmen can come up with an alternative to plastic'

Kolkata: The expertise of handicraftsmen of Bengal can be utilised for producing alternatives to plastic carry bags, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said on Friday.

"Bengal is known for its indigenous craftwork. The Shola workers in the state are very impressive. So, some sort of skill development training for these handicraft artists could be provided and their expertise could be harnessed for producing an alternative to plastic carry bags lesser than 75 microns," Yadav said on the sidelines of the 107th Foundation Day of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

The Union minister's statement assumes significance with Bengal officially announcing a ban on the use of plastic less than 75 microns from July 1.

The minister mooted a proposal for setting up a world-class biodiversity museum in Kolkata to churn out the rich biodiversity in the form of flora and fauna in the country.

"There are 17 world-class institutions in the country with ZSI, Botanical Survey of India, Wildlife Institute of India, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India figuring in this list. I will urge all these institutions to collaborate for knowledge sharing and capacity building and work for addressing issues like climate change, land degradation and biodiversity conservation," Yadav said.

The Union Minister in the presence of Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Kumar Choubey released several publications of ZSI and BSI and also released Animal Discoveries 2021 by ZSI and Plant Discoveries 2021 by BSI.

As many as 540 new animal discoveries have been made in 2021 that include 406 new species and 134 newly recorded species of India.

With these discoveries, the fauna diversity of India has been enhanced to 103258 species which is equivalent to 6.1 percent of the global fauna diversity.

The highest number of new records of animals have been in the form of 22 Lepidoptera, followed by 13 Hymenoptera and 10 Trichoptera. A new mammal has also been newly recorded from the country this year.

The BSI has recorded 315 taxa as new to science, the highest being 135 in the form of angiosperms.

The prestigious EK Janaki Ammal award was conferred on former ZSI director Kailash Chandra, CH Sasikala, an eminent bacteriologist and Mamiyil Sabu who is presently working as CSIR - Emeritus Scientist at Malabar Botanical Garden, Calcutta.

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