NEW DELHI, Jan 2 - The Bijoy Krishna Handique Memorial Award for Leadership in Wildlife Conservation in the northeastern region will be given away on July 26 in Guwahati on the occasion of the second death anniversary of the veteran Parliamentarian.
The award has been instituted by the Development Foundation of Assam (DFA), a non-profit organisation based out of Guwahati. A jury of five members comprising eminent persons has been constituted by DFA to shortlist and select the first recipient of the award.
DFA general secretary Dr Sujit Bardhan said the award will carry a cash entitlement of Rs 1 lakh, a trophy and a citation. The objective of the award is to honour the unsung heroes from different parts of the region, who have selflessly contributed towards wildlife conservation activities.
Dr Bardhan mentioned that Handique, who was himself a lifelong wildlife enthusiast, was one of the first Parliamentarians to raise important issues like man-elephant conflict on the floor of the Lok Sabha. He was also one the first MPs to contribute towards wildlife conservation activities from the MPLAD fund by building a footbridge for monkeys across a railroad in the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary at Mariani.
