DIMAPUR, June 7 - The Southern Angami Youth Organisation (SAYO), in affirmation to its pledge to preserve and protect the environment, has declared Dz�kou Valley, a tourist destination in Kohima district of Nagaland, a plastic-free zone.
Nagaland Government�s adviser to Youth Resources and Sports department Zale Neikha made the declaration after unveiling a monolith on the National Highway 2 beside the entry point into the Valley in Viswema village on Wednesday.
Neikha described Dz�kou Valley as one of the most valuable assets of Nagaland besides being a tourist hotspot and the most sought after destination in the State. He lauded the SAYO for its insightful initiative to protect the Valley.
�God has bestowed on us the unique landscape and ecosystem (Dz�kou) and made the people of the region its custodians,� he said and urged all the frontal organisations of the area to actively participate in preserving the picturesque Valley.
According to the legislator, the people of the Southern Angami area should take ownership of the SAYO initiative to enforce a plastic-free zone in the Valley and set exemplary role by refusing to use, take along or irresponsibly dispose plastic materials. �To have a clean environment, we need to start from ourselves,� Neikha said.
Head of Nagaland Tourism department Akhale Khamo described the Dz�kou Valley as not only a destination for foreign and domestic tourists but also as an environment educational institute. Khamo said Dz�kou Valley has become the most visited place in the State and stressed the need to preserve it.
Appreciating the SAYO for coming up with the initiative, she said it is the collective responsibility of all individuals to control the menace of plastic pollution for healthy environment.
SAYO president Zakeleto Ts�kr� spoke on how the organisation took the decision to adopt the Valley and make it free of plastic and littering. He said 150 volunteers undertook a three-day clean-up �Dz�kou Drive� from May 21 to 23.
He said as part of the declaration, a monolith was erected to signify the organisation�s pledge which will inform visitors of what is being enforced.
