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Bilaspur. On October 19, 2022, at 11 am, the Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environmental Sciences of Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya (Central University), under the joint auspices of the Forest and Climate Change Department, Government of Chhattisgarh, organised a Hi-Tech bamboo plantation programme close to the buildings of the departments of IT that are currently under construction. Professor Alok Kumar Chakrawal, the university’s vice-chancellor, served as the inaugural program’s chief guest. The Registrar, Prof. Manish Srivastava, and Special Guest Kumar Nishant (IFS), DFO Bilaspur, were among the attendees on stage. Bhawna Dixit and Gunjan Patil are the project’s primary investigators.
The inaugural program started with the planting of bamboo plants by the guests. After this, the guests were welcomed with saplings. After that, the inscription plaque was unveiled by the guests.
The Chief Guest, Honorable Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Alok Kumar Chakrawal said that it is our responsibility to reduce the carbon footprint and strengthen the bio-diversity. Water, forest, land, climate and animals are our assets, by preserving them we can pave the way to prosperity. He said that it is our endeavour that in addition to the pre-determined area in the master plan of the university, vertical expansion should be done so that maximum forest area can be developed and protected.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Chakrawal said that there is no dearth of resources for the implementation of various projects of the Forestry Department. We need to pay attention towards the proper utilization of resources. He expressed hope that in the coming years, researchers from various higher educational institutions of the country would come for research in the Forestry Department of the Central University. On this occasion, he said that the need to deal properly with climate change and cleanliness are important issues. The volunteers of the National Service Scheme of the University will try to make Bilaspur city number one under the cleanliness mission.
The Special Guest, Kumar Nishant (IFS) DFO, Bilaspur said that continuous work has been going on for the last six months on this project. Both the teachers of the Forestry Department and the Forest Department are working together on this bamboo plantation, in which we have got success today. This project will continue for the next four years. We have to increase the area of forest on the basis of international standards so that it becomes easy to collect the data. He said that the research scholars and students of the Forestry Department of Central University can cooperate in data collection of forest areas. This is an opportunity where we should optimize all the public welfare and forestry projects of the government and realize them on the ground.
It is noteworthy that the entire maintenance of this bamboo plantation will be done by the forest department and it will be developed as a model bamboo plantation area of the state. On this occasion, Kumar Nishant assured that a proposal would be sent soon to provide space for the research scholars to carry out research work in five different forest areas of the state. The four bamboo species planted are Bambusa tulda, Bambusa balcoa, Bambusa mutans and Bambusa vetricoa.
Earlier, Dr Bhawna Dixit threw light on various technical aspects related to the project in detail. The Registrar, Prof. Manish Srivastava, Dean of the School of Natural Resources, Prof. S.S. Singh, Head of the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Environmental Sciences, Prof. KK Chandra and SDO of Forest Department Sunil Bachchan expressed their views.
The guests on stage were honoured with mementoes. The students performed various bamboo arts. The program was conducted by Dr Bhawna Dixit and a vote of thanks was delivered by Dr Gunjan Patil, Assistant Professor of the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Environmental Science. The Deans of various Schools, Heads of Departments, teachers, officers, employees, officers of the Forest Department, research scholars and students were present on this occasion.
