Noted environmentalist of Assam Purnima Devi Barman, who won the Whitley Award also known as the Green Oscars last May, was felicitated by the villagers of Pachariya in Assam for her stork campaign.
She received an amazing reception from the villagers where her stork campaign was made a part of the Goddess Lakshmi Puja procession in Pachriya village.
37-year-old Purnima Devi Barman won this award for creating an all-female network to save the Greater Adjutant stork, known in India as Hargila, and its wetland habitat in Assam.
The Hargila storks are large scavenger birds with a global population of 1,200, 75 per cent of which are found in Assam.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), their total population is estimated to be between 1,200 and 1,800 and around 800 birds are found in Assam and at least 156 birds in Bihar.
Purnima Devi Barman has mobilised her all- female local network towards sustainable livelihoods through weaving traditional Assamese scarves and saris that are then sold to raise funds for the conservation project, through her association with NGO Aaranyak.