Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC), Contai Municipality

in collaboration with Prabhat Kumar College, Contai

Contai, Purba Medinipur, W.B.

Address: Prabhat Kumar College, Contai. Post- Karkuli, P.S.- Contai, Dist- Purba Medinipur, PIN - 721 404, West Bengal, India;

Telephone: (03220) 255020/288275

Mobile: 9434259107, 9474896006, 9434031553

Date of Inception: 30.11.2015

As one of the major issues caused by Global Warming is the increasing loss of biodiversity, the main objective of Biodiversity conservation within the College campus and nearby is not only to gain temporary gain, but also to yield perpetual dividends for all the stakeholders of the institution as well as the inhabitants of Contai Municipality. In other words, it will create long-term benefits for the society at large; it will help us create new habitats and wildlife opportunities, greater awareness of biodiversity across our institution, and new partnerships within our institution and the local community.

Biodiversity conservation, the practice of protecting and preserving the natural resources and variety of species, habitats, ecosystems, and genetic diversity on the planet are important for our health, wealth, food, fuel, and other services we depend on. It plays an integral role in supporting many sectors of development. With the constant inspiration from the West Bengal Biodiversity Board (WBBB) the Chairman, Contai Municipality, requested the Principal to depute efficient teaching and nonteaching staff responsibility to form Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) for smooth running and better efficacy. Since December, 2015 BMC started its function with significant momentum. BMC consists of seven members out of which all are from our College. The Chairman was in our College up to Dec, 2019. 

ROLES & FUNCTIONS OF THE BMC

The BMCs would, in addition to the preparation of the People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR) participate in ensuring

• conservation and sustainable utilisation of biological resources.
• Eco-restoration of the local biodiversity.
• proper feedback to the SBB in the matter of IPR, traditional knowledge and local biodiversity issues, where you were feasible and essential feedback to be provided to the NBA.
• management of heritage sites including Heritage trees, animals/microorganisms etc., and sacred groves and sacred water bodies.
• regulation of Axis to the biological resources and/or associated traditional knowledge, for commercial and research purposes.
• sharing of usufructs arising out of commercial use of bio-resources.
• conservation of traditional varieties/breeds of economic important plants/animals.
• biodiversity education and awareness.
• building documentation enable procedure to develop bio-cultural protocols.
• sustainable use and benefit sharing.
• protection of traditional knowledge recorded in PBR.

Source; http://nbaindia.org/uploaded/pdf/Guidelines%20for%20BMC.pdf

Arsenic Detection & Awareness Programmes in

Prabhat Kumar College, Contai

Introduction

As a consequence of reckless digging of underground water without optimal use of surface water the sources of underground water gets depleted gradually. It leads to greater input of toxic chemicals to human body via using and drinking of underground water. Among such toxic chemicals, and contaminant, arsenic is regarded as one of the most hazardous elements as it is responsible for causing several health hazards in term of severe types of cancer in skin, lungs, bladder and kidney. Industrial and agricultural revolutions are considered as the propagators of the arsenic contamination with water. The permissible level of arsenic in drinking water is 0.01 mg/L. As per the State Government record eight districts and seventy nine blocks in West Bengal are found affected by arsenic. In every case the value of arsenic is found to be more than 0.05 mg/L. This is in line with the prophecy of Prof. Dipankar Chattopadhaya, The Arsenic Man of India, who predicted that underground drinking water of most of the areas near Ganga Delta in coming days will be polluted by Arsenic. As Prabhat Kumar College, Contai is located near the costal belt of Bay of Bengal, we, the stakeholders, are going to be prominent victims in near future. So to mitigate the upcoming threat to some extent the institution has taken initiatives since 2016-17 academic session for annual testing of the Arsenic level in the underground water of the different wards in Contai municipality. Simultaneously it has been fixed to conduct several arsenic awareness programmes among students and local people.

Necessary steps, taken by the institution regarding the awareness of arsenic poisoning in drinking water

1. Collaboration with SwasthyaBhabna, Serampore Hooghly for regular testing of arsenic in underground water
2. Making some students of the Department of Chemistry of the institution trained for Arsenic testing.
3. Organising Seminars / Workshops on Arsenic Poisoning & Detection.
4. Regular Arsenic Awareness Programmes for students and local people.
5. Our Institution has launched the Rainwater Harvesting Project with the help of SwasthyaBhabna as a preventive measure of the Arsenic poisoning in drinking water.
6. NSS units of the college arrange for discussions on Arsenic poisoning in human body from time to time.
7. For the period of (2018-March,2021) the Swasthya Bhabna has recommended the Contai municipality as “Arsenic free municipality”as a result of annual Arsenic Testing.

Future Planning

1. In near future, the institution will take effective measures as the Mentor to implement Rainwater Harvesting projects in all the secondary and higher secondary schools of Contai municipality in collaboration with Swasthya Bhabna Welfare Society.
2. Several Arsenic poisoning Awareness Programmes will be arranged in different schools in Contai municipality.

In future, institution will allocate some fund in developing Arsenic absorbing materials to be developed by the science faculty members of the institution as a part of interdisciplinary research