Tripura Chief Minister Prof. Dr Manik Saha on Monday urged the people to maintain the ecological system to protect wildlife animals and forests in the state.

Dr Saha said this while attending the State Level concluding ceremony of Wildlife Week, followed by the inauguration of an e-office at Joychandpur School Ground in the South Tripura district.

“We started with the introduction of a state-level E-Office, followed by E-Vidhansabha and E-Cabinet. Now, in the South Tripura district, we have launched the E-office. The first district where we have launched a district level paperless E-office system.  The E-office system offers numerous benefits. We plan to extend its implementation to the sub-divisional and panchayat levels, ensuring that data and files can be stored efficiently and transparently," he stated.

Dr Saha also released butterflies into the enclosure at the Butterfly Garden at Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary and inspected the Butterfly Park developed by the Forest department.

"This park, with its breeding facilities for winged creatures and the presence of plants favored by butterflies, has become a major tourist attraction. Butterflies serve as indicators of a healthy environment and ecosystem," said Dr Saha.

He continued, "Tripura is covered by 73 percent forest. There was a time when Tripura was home to numerous wild animals, but now not only in Tripura but also worldwide, many species of animals are on the verge of endangerment. We must maintain the ecological balance. Various animals are venturing into human habitats and damaging trees because we are cutting down trees that serve as the food source for these wild animals. Even elephants are straying onto roads, leading to unfortunate incidents. It is imperative that we ensure these animals receive all necessary facilities in their natural habitats. If we don't maintain ecological balance, no one will survive. We must preserve both the animals and the forests. The forest is like the lungs of the human body, and we depend on each other for survival."

He also appealed to everyone, especially students, to visit wildlife sanctuaries in the state and mentioned that the education department would consider making such visits mandatory for students.

Cooperation Minister Shukla Charan Noatia, MLA Swapna Majumder Secretary Industry and Commerce Kiran Gitte,Principal Secretary and PCCF K S Sethi,  Additional PCCF were present.