Skip to content Skip to navigation

Dr Robin Banerjee Memorial lecture held

By AT News Guwahati |

“The Brahmaputra and its adjoining flood-plain lakes hold hundreds of species of macroinvertebrate, herpeto and avian fauna and the most fascinating fauna of the Brahmaputra is the endangered, Ganges dolphin, Platanista gangetica gangetica. Only a few pockets are now left in the Brahmaputra which may be the last habitats for this national aquatic animal,” said Prof S P Biswas, head of department of Life Sciences, Dibrugarh University. Prof Biswas was delivering the Dr Robin Banerjee Memorial Lecture organized by Kaziranga Wildlife Society at the AASSIA Conference Hall in Guwahati as part of celebration of the late conservationist’s birthday on August 12. Delivering the memorial lecture on ‘Threats and Conservation of Aquatic Fauna of the Region’ Prof Biswas added that “Siltation of river bed and widening of the river is a common scenario in almost entire stretches of the Brahmaputra. Further, the erratic nature of water discharge, high rates of erosion and siltation, and habitat destruction have negative impacts on the commercial fishery and on the mega-faunas like giant cat fishes, feather-back, mahseer and turtles. There numbers are dwindling sharply in the upper stretches. The Ganges dolphin is the hardest hit among the aquatic fauna.”

Kaziranga Wildlife Society (KWS), the oldest conservation NGO of the region has been observing August 12, the birthday of its founder-president Dr Robin Banerjee as Nature Conservation Day since 2013. “It is important to gather knowledge on the present status of wildlife and the threats they are facing, before working on conservational strategies,” said Mubina Akhtar, secretary, KWS and added that the NGO has been organizing the memorial lecture with this view and invited experts to throw light on some of the most urgent issues on important wildlife, especially of those in the region. Internationally acclaimed filmmakers S Nallamutthu and Mike Pandey, wildlife experts Dharanidhar Bodo and Dr Anwaruddin Chouhury were guests on earlier occasions.

The Nature Conservation Day celebrations also included presentation of the Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The three recipients of this year’s award—that carries cash and a citation—are Majnur Hussain of Hajo, Ananda Khataniar and Nagen Choudhury of Bajali. They were selected for their single-handed efforts to increase green cover by planting and taking care of thousands of saplings in their respective areas. Ex-principal, Cotton College, Dr Anil Goswami, Retired Information Commissioner Mohan Chandra Malakar and Indrajit Dutta , ex-president of KWS gave away the prizes. Managing editor, Dy 365 and vice president of the Ngo, Pranay Bordoloi lauding the efforts of the awardees said that the state needs more such efforts in the grass root.

Padum Borthakur, president KWS, who chaired the meeting, summarized the journey of Kaziranga Wildlife Society founded in 1969.Earlier, ex- presidents of KWS, Ramani Kanta Deka and Abani Baruah reminisced events from the life of Robin Banerjee and the immense contribution he made in the field of conservation.

 

 

  • 9228 reads

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

School girl dies in landslip

Monsoon misery refuses to die down in Assam where non stop landslide claimed yet another life in the capital city of Guwahati after weeklong incessant rains. The victim is a six-year-old girl on Monday morning in the Pankhaity area adjacent to the city as she was preparing to go to school. A huge heap of mud from a nearby hill slipped and buried her sending shockwave in the entire city. Her parents dug out her and rushed to a hospital where she was declared brought dead. After identifying several hill areas in Guwahati and adjoining areas as vulnerable , the administration asked the residents to shift to a safer places.

PPFA endorses Thimphu’s stand against Beijing

Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA) strongly endorses the stand of Bhutan government in Thimphu crying foul against the Chinese regime in Beijing for its illegitimate activities in Sikkim’s Doklam (also known as Donglang) locality. Bhutan’s Ambassador to India, Vetsop Namgyel has recently commented that the ongoing construction of a road in the disputed Doklam area (near Sikkim) was a clear ‘violation’ of an agreement between Bhutan and China. Thimphu has asked Beijing to stop the construction immediately near Bhutanese army camps. "Doklam is a disputed territory and Bhutan has a written agreement with China that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, peace and tranquility...

Evening clinic at press club continues

Continuing the mission for healthcare to its member-journalists along with their dependents, northeast India’s pioneer media organization Guwahati Press Club (GPC) invites Assam’s well known Nemcare Hospital to conduct the next evening OPD (outpatient department) clinic on 1st July. At least two physicians (cardiology and medicine) from the hospital will be available for free consultations at press club between 3 pm and 5 pm on Saturday. The participants of 17th June clinic, which was conducted by the city based Emerge Diagnostic, may bring their blood reports with glucose, creatinine, cholesterol, bilirubin & haemoglobin parameter to consult with the attending physicians on next camp...

Media OPD clinic concluded at press club

Sight First Eye-Clinic organized the Saturday OPD (outpatient department) clinic at Guwahati Press Club (GPC), where around 45 media workers participated. Organized under the series of ‘Evening with a Doctor’ programs for the benefit of GPC members along with their dependents, the weekly camp was conducted by Dr Shubhra Kinkor Goswami and Dr Bijuli Goswami. Both the eye specialists were assisted by health workers Ramen Haloi, Bapan Paul and Paresh Das in the conducting the camp. Though most of the participants’ eyes were diagnosed healthy, the attending physicians advised the media workers to be careful in using the digital screens for longer period. They also asked the participants to use...

JFA welcomes SC directive, appeals media managements to obey the verdict

Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) welcomes the Supreme Court’s ruling on 19 June 2017 in favour of newspaper & news agency employees in the Majithia Wage Board dispute and the forum fervently appeals to the concerned media managements to obey the direction. The scribe’s body argues that the managements must not linger on the implementation of Majithia board award for the benefit of journalists & non-journalist media employees for more years. Otherwise, it would only degrade the print media as an institution slowly slipping down to the group of law- evaders in the country, it added. It may be noted that the apex court’s vacation bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Navin Sinha...

Eye specialists to attend Guwahati Press Club clinic

The next Saturday OPD (outpatient department) clinic at Guwahati Press Club (GPC) will be conducted by Sight First Eye-Clinic, where eye specialists Dr Shubhra Kinkor Goswami and Dr Bijuli Goswami would check the participants’ eyes and offer free consultations. The weekly camp, organized under the series of ‘Evening with a Doctor’ programs for the benefit of GPC members along with their dependents, will start at 4 pm on 24 June and continue till 6 pm. The organizers encourage more participation of children belonged to the press club member-journalists in the forthcoming camp. The last clinic on 17 June was conducted by the city based Emerge Diagnostic, where a team of health workers under...

Emerge Diagnostic conducts GPC clinic

he city based Emerge Diagnostic under the leadership of Dr Dhrubajyoti Gogoi conducted the last OPD clinic at Guwahati Press Club (GPC) on Saturday. The camp, organized under the series of ‘Evening with a Doctor’ programs for the benefit of GPC members along with their dependants, helped nearly 50 participants to check their hemoglobin, cholesterol, bilirubin, creatinine and blood pressure. The camp was supported by health workers namely Aminul Islam, Khanin Deka and Hemants Deka. The next media clinic on 24 June will be conducted by Sight First Eye-Clinic, where as 1 July camp is assigned for Nemcare Hospital and 8 July for Fortis Hospitals Bangalore.

Emerge Diagnostic will conduct next OPD at press club

The city based Emerge Diagnostic under the leadership of Dr Dhrubajyoti Gogoi will conduct the next Saturday OPD clinic at Guwahati Press Club (GPC). The camp, organized under the series of ‘Evening with a Doctor’ programs for the benefit of GPC members along with their dependants, will begin at 3 pm (of 17 June) and continue till 6 pm. The participants will get the facility to check their hemoglobin, cholesterol, bilirubin, creatinine, random sugar test and blood pressure along with free healthcare consultations in the weekly camp. The last GPC clinic on 10 June was supervised by Wintrobe Hospital, where Dr Nitin Gupta and Dr Debajit Baishya offered consultations to over 30 participants....

Be positive, says mountaineer Anshu

Mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa, who climbed to Mount Everest twice in five days recently, opined that positive thinking always helps an individual in achieving expected goals. Attending the ‘Meet the Press’ program of Guwahati Press Club on Saturday morning, the young mountaineer from Arunachal Pradesh also added that a strong determination and dedication to one’s work cam make an individual successful. Anshu, who is yet to be 40, created the world record being the first woman to scale Everest twice in five days. The mother of two children also made the national record of conquering the top of the world for fifth time. Her husband Tsering Wange, who is based in Bomdila and a former president...

Governor felicitates mountaineer Anshu

Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit felicitated Anshu Jamsenpa, who has climbed to the peak of Mount Everest twice in five days and making a world record by her feat, at a function held at Raj Bhavan on Friday. Hailing the feat of the mountaineer, Purohit said, “The nation in general and Northeast in particular is proud of the enviable record of Anshu Jamsenpa who unfurled the Tricolour at the peak of Mount Everest. Climbing the Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak is indeed an extraordinary endeavour, climbing it twice in five days is something only the great can do. My commendation to the grit and dedication of Anshu Jamsenpa on becoming the first woman to scale the peak for fourth time...