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Naturalists have demanded of the government to recruit a special contingent of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for the Sundarbans to conserve the mangrove forest and protect the endangered tigers.
The demand was made at the inaugural session of a two-day workshop on 'Teachers for Tigers: Advanced Technique Refresher Course' at Dhaka Zoo auditorium in the city Friday, reports UNB.
The workshop has been jointly organised by Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTB), Dhaka Zoo, Zoo Outreach Organisation of India, and Wildlife Conservation Society of New York. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Kamal Uddin Siddiqui was present as a chief guest at the inaugural session, chaired by M Harunur Rashid, trustee of Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTF).
Banglalink Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lars P Reichelt, Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Kamrul Hasan, DG Salahuddin Mahmood, Chief Conservator of Forests Mohammad Osman Gani and Dhaka Zoo Curator Kazi Fazlul Haque, among others, spoke on the occasion.
Inaugurating the workshop, Kamal Uddin Siddiqui said the forest should be preserved for the interest of mankind and to do so the first thing to be done is to stop issuing entry permits.
The authorities should think of banning any entry of people into the forest for next one decade, he said. Such a ban on entry might create unemployment for a section of people like Bawali, Mawali and others, but the government has enough scope to find alternative employment for a few lakh people, he also added.
M Harunur Rashid in his speech said immediate recruitment of a special contingent of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for the Sundarbans would help stop poachers and other manmade threats to the mangrove forest and its animals.
Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Kamrul Hasan said the name of Royal Bengal Tiger of the Sundarbans was once mentioned with pride and awe. Lars P Reichelt expressed his optimism to extend the hands of cooperation of his company in preserving the wildlife and the endangered species of tiger in the Sundarbans.
"We, along with a few local wildlife activists, are working on raising a fund for the endangered Royal Bengal tigers of the Sundarbans," he said, adding: "Banglalink is very much linked with the symbol of tiger and its majestic approach, which bind us to do something for the tigers."
Experts and wildlife conservationists from home and abroad also deliberated on the advanced techniques of tiger conservation at the technical sessions of the workshop-a follow-up of three previous workshops held February-March last year in the country to involve people in the conservation of tigers.
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