Forest dept to launch ‘Apnar Pashe’ outreach prog in North Bengal

Jalpaiguri: The Forest department is set to roll out a new community outreach initiative, ‘Apnar Pashe’ (by your side), inspired by the state’s ‘Duare Sarkar’ programme. Scheduled to begin in mid-June, the initiative will be implemented by the Gorumara Wildlife Division in villages surrounding Gorumara National Park, Neora Valley and Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary. The programme aims to create awareness about forest and wildlife conservation while also identifying local community issues. Forest beat officers will connect with villagers, not only inside forest areas but also in several adjacent non- forest settlements.

Currently, the three forest regions include 17 Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs), 20 revenue villages and 7 forest villages. The initiative will expand outreach through market visits and direct interactions to discourage harmful practices such as tree felling and wildlife hunting during festivals. Dwija Pratim Sen, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Gorumara Wildlife Division, said: “There has been a rise in incidents of wild animals entering villages. In some cases, crowds provoke animals, leading to dangerous situations. An elephant was recently injured in Alapchand after being chased with an earthmover. A bear was beaten to death in a tea garden near Meteli.” Sen added that forest staff will spread awareness during weekly markets and record local grievances such as poor roads, drinking water shortage, street lighting and drainage problems. These will be forwarded to the district administration for possible action. While the state government has already conducted eight phases of ‘Duare Sarkar’ and the police have run similar community outreach initiatives, this marks the first direct public interface programme launched by the Forest department. Forest officials will visit remote villages such as Budhuram (Gorumara), Panjhora (Chapramari) and Saurini, Ambiyak, Votekharkar (Neora Valley)—using vehicles, bikes or on foot. The DFO confirmed that ‘Apnar Pashe’ will be launched within this month.