Green Marathon marks World Environment Day

GUWAHATI/ KOKRAJHAR: A total of 179 people took part in the Green Marathon on the occasion of World Environment Day at Bokakhat in Golaghat district on Tuesday. The participants ran 22km from Bokakhat to Kohora, the central range of Kaziranga National Park.
State minister for environment and forest Rockybul Hussain flagged off the marathon, organised by Aaranyak in collaboration with Bokakhat district Master Athletic Association, the forest department and the Bokakhat civil administration.A cash prize of Rs 10,000 was presented to Shomezuddin Ahmed of Kamrup, who came first in the Green Marathon. The first and second runners were Bijoy Deka of Jorhat and Robin Das of Barpeta, who won cash awards of Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.
Several other organizations, including government bodies, also observed World Environment Day. The 135 Eco Task Force of the Territorial Army launched a plantation-cum-cleanliness drive in Kokrajhar. The programme started with tree plantation at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kokrajhar where about 100 saplings were planted. A total of 200 saplings were distributed among the students for planting at their homes. Addressing the gathering, Lt Col KS Jaggi, commanding officer of 135 ETF, said that the force is always ready to provide saplings and any other help to the people if they want to plant saplings.
World Enviroment Day was also observed at Raj Bhawan where governor J B Patnaik interacted with students and teachers on environmental issues. He also planted a neem sapling at Raj Bhawan.
Saplings were distributed among students as well. The event was organised in collaboration with the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), northeast.
Guwahati Refinery too celebrated the 40th World Environment Day by involving men, women and children in a programme on the banks of the Brahmaputra. The programme started with the planting of saplings. Executive director BP Das was present at the programme along with other officials of the refinery.
Help Earth, a biodiversity conservation NGO, conducted an awareness workshop on snakebites at Keutpara Prathamik Vidyalaya in Azara area of Kamrup district. The workshop was organised for the students and the fisherman community of Deepor Beel, a Ramsar site wetland. The workshop was organised keeping in mind the death of a woman in this village last year due to snakebite. Jayaditya Purkayastha of Help Earth also taught participants to identify venomous snakes besides demonstrating first-aid techniques for snake bites.
The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in association with an NGO, BiofreshNext, organized a mass tree plantation drive in the city. GMDA chairman and east Guwahati MLA Captain Robin Bordoloi, Assamese actress Rimpy Das, participated in the programme among other dignitaries.