Port Blair, July 11: The Director, Botanical Survey of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Paramjit Singh visited the BSI, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre on recently. During his visit, Dr. Lal Ji Singh, Dy. Director &Head of Office explained research activities of the Botanical Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre on plant diversity and the intensive botanical explorations and authentic documentation of flora of the Islands enriching the herbarium and the museum of the Centre. Among all the units of BSI, Andaman & Nicobar Regional Centre holds the credits of covering one of the remote and insular floristic hotspots of the country.
Later, the Director, Dr. Singh visited Dhannikhari Experimental Garden cum Arboretum (DEGCA) on July 9 where the Head of Office, Dr. Singh explained that botanic garden of BSI lays particular emphasis on ex-situ conservation and multiplication of rare, endangered and endemic species of the Islands.. The Garden is demarcated into different sections like medicinal plots, bambusetum, endemic, rare and threatened plots, fern house, zingibers and orchid collections. Dr. Singh , discussed various matters related to the documentation and conservation of the floral diversity as well as the economic and ecological significance of the threatened species of these islands and ex-situ conservation activities of rare, endangered and threatened species. Dr. Singh planted an endemic palm of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Bentinckianicobarica(Kurz) Becc. in the garden.
Dr. Singh was also briefed about the environmental awareness programme organized with the collaboration of various departments for the benefit of the common man and works done on conservation of rare, endangered and threatened plants of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The Director also held discussion on survey and documentation of plant species, new discoveries, ex-situ conservation activities by scientists of the centre.
