Gangtok: A rhino horn, valued at about Rs 20 lakh, was recovered from three persons at Siliguri in West Bengal, forest department sources said on Tuesday.
Police arrested the trio from Siliguri on June 27 after they showed the rhino horn to the cops, who posed as buyers and agreed to pay Rs 5 lakh for the same, the sources said.
An advisory to the state forest department has underscored the construction of underpasses or overpasses across railway tracks in the forests of north Bengal to bring down the number of animal deaths, but wildlife experts claimed the proposal was impractical.
Siliguri, June 8: A rainwater harvesting project of the North Bengal University for which funds of more than Rs 7 lakh had been sanctioned by the state has been abandoned.
Under the project, a check dam was to be built across the Magurmari stream that passes through the varsity premises, to break its flow and store the excess water in a reservoir.
Siliguri, May 5: The forest department has taken up projects to count and study the Asiatic black bear and to find out the status of different species of butterfly in Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary.
- WWF trains border guards to conserve park & keep away smugglers
Siliguri, April 30: The forest department is trying to bring in the Sashastra Seema Bal to check the smuggling of rare medicinal plants from the Singalila National Park to Nepal.
The 78.6sqkm park is on the Indo-Nepal border in Darjeeling district.
Gangtok, April 25: The double-laning of NH31A, the lifeline of Sikkim, has hit a hurdle as the Bengal forest department has not yet granted permission to the Border Roads Organisation to work on the stretch that runs through Darjeeling district.
Siliguri: More than 75 per cent of the bought-leaf factories in north Bengal have closed down because of acute shortage of tea leaves triggered by low rain and pest attacks during the time of first flush when the best quality brew is produced.
To tide over the crisis, BLF owners have sought government intervention.
Kalimpong, April 11: The water scarcity in Kalimpong has forced villagers to ration water to suppliers pumping it out from springs and restaurants to restrict their sales.
