South 24-Parganas involves students to celebrate 'World Mangrove Day'

KOLKATA: The South 24-Parganas district administration on Tuesday celebrated the occasion of World Mangrove Day (July 26) by involving students from different schools to inculcate the importance of mangrove preservation among them through various initiatives across the district.

The main programme that was held at Gangasagar, one of the well-known pilgrimage destinations of West Bengal, was attended by Bankim Hazra, Sunderban Affairs minister, senior officials from Gangasagar Bakkhali Development Authority, District Magistrate Sumit Gupta , Divisional Forest Officer (South 24 Parganas ), Milan Mondal among others. The administration has set the ball rolling for setting up 'Mangrove Bachao (Save) Club' in all the schools located within the district and designating brand ambassadors among the students from each school with the aim to generate awareness about the importance of mangrove preservation. The students have been asked to inform their family members about the importance of preserving mangroves. The teachers have been trained in holding various competitions among the students for generating awareness. "We have planted 12 crore saplings in the last two years on 4500 hectares of land in South 24-Parganas and will follow it up with another 2 crore this year. The work is being executed in coordination with the state Forest department and Panchayats and Rural Development department and women

from the Self Help Groups (SHGs)

are being involved in the entire exercise," Gupta said. Mangroves are an ecologically fragile ecosystem rich in biodiversity and provide a range of services like fisheries, medicines, recreation, eco tourism, bio filtration, nursery and coastal protection. It sequesters carbon at a rate of nearly seven times more than normal

trees. It also protects groundwater

aquifers from seepage of seawater, thereby ensuring water security for the coastal population.