Dehradun, ‘Been There Doon That’ organized a felicitation ceremony for two young heroes from Uttarakhand. Both, pioneers in their field have won the Sanctuary Asia Award in Mumbai recently.
In their early thirties, Tauquir Ahmed and Arun Gaur, were recipients of the “Youth Naturalist Award” and “Sanctuary Wildlife Award’ by Sanctuary Asia. Together the two have put Uttarakhand on the map of Environmental Conservation.
Tauquir Ahmed, a Gujjar from Rajaji National Park, started off as a cook for a group of bird researchers. He started making notes for them and step-by-step has become one of Uttarakhand’s foremost bird watcher. He has an innate understanding of nature, and now a young graduate, he has helped in camera trapping, tracking, sighting and collar tagging numerous birds in the hill state. Wandering down memory lane, he remembers: “In 2012 I first held my first pair of binoculars to watch, observe and identify birds. Five years down the line, I have the privilege of sharing my knowledge and passion with young minds by conducting programs in schools.”
On the other hand, Arun Gaur is one of the select few who have had the good fortune of being able to earning a living from his home in the hills. His Devalsari Environment and Technology Development Society Project spread over a radius of 70 kms, is one of its kind success story. Today ten villages under the banner of the Project are leading by example of sustainable, responsible eco-tourism in the heart of its lush green deodar forest. Arun adds, “Electricity came to our village in 2005, and a car, as recent as 2006. We started Devalsari Environment and Technology Development Society Project in 2013-14 and have given eco tourism a whole new definition.”
An intrepid Lokesh Ohri of ‘Been There, Doon That’ sums it up: “These brave sons of the mountains have brought laurels to the hill-state by pursuing their chosen passion with single minded pursuit and dedication. It is this dedication that we are celebrating here today.”
