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World Wetlands Day 2024 was celebrated by the scientists and staff of Central National Herbarium, Howrah of Botanical Survey of India along with the students of Ananda Bhawan Deaf and Blind School, Jagatpur, Howrah district. Ajay Das, in-charge teacher and secretary of the school welcomed Dr. R. K. Gupta, head of the office, and his team from Central National Herbarium and expressed his gratitude for selecting the school for the event. Through an audio-visual presentation, Dr. Sudeshna Dutta informed the students about the importance of wetlands, the Ramsar Convention, the utility of wetlands, and the need for wetlands conservation. She added that, this day has been celebrated worldwide to commemorate the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance in 1971. India has been a party to the Convention since 1982 and on the eve of WWD 2024, India has increased its tally of Ramsar sites (Wetlands of International Importance) to 80 by designating five more wetlands as Ramsar sites. Presently, India stands first in South Asia and third in Asia in terms of number of designated sites.
Sanjay Kumar explained the contribution of wetlands to the living world with the help of a cartoon film released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Mrs. Tandrashree Das explained everything to the children through sign language.
A painting competition was also organized on this occasion in which 55 children participated. In this competition, Kumari Jemima Yashmin, Anjali Mahato, and Sayan Pal got the first, second, and third positions respectively. Parents of some of the children also took part in the event and expressed their gratitude to the organizers for organizing the event on wetlands for the first time in a school for specially-abled children.
Artists Dineshwar Kumar Sah, Shyam Biswa, and Narendra Kumar Negi from Central National Herbarium participated in the programme.
Secretary of Ananda Bhavan Deaf and Blind School Ajay Das along with Bulu Ghosh, Tandrashree Das, Puluk Tung, Anup Kumar Paul, Bikash Chandra Murmu, and 80 students also administered the Wetland Mitra Pledge on this occasion.
