Indian Man Creates Biodiverse Sanctuary to Honor His Mother, Providing Living Knowledge for Students

An Indian man, Jayanta Kumar Das, has transformed his family land into the Kanaklata Das Biodiversity Park in honor of his mother. Over 15 years, Das has created a sanctuary that provides shelter and food to various creatures, including mongooses, snakes, foxes, and thousands of lesser whistling ducks. The park also attracts Indian pythons, Asian water monitors, and Asian palm civets. The initiative began after Das's father observed urban development destroying native habitats. Despite challenges like illegal animal poaching and wetland birds leaving after monsoon season, Das has installed fencing and seeks to deepen the wetlands to protect the creatures. Students from nearby colleges in the Udalguri District of Assam visit the park for biodiversity studies. Das received Parivesh Mitra honors for his conservation work and advocates for environmental awareness, emphasizing the need for practical conservation efforts and the inclusion of biodiversity and nature conservation subjects in academic syllabi.