In a first, Manipur's Shirui village bans hunting of animals for 3 years

GUWAHATI/MANIPUR: At a time when forest officials and villagers of Tamenglong district have stepped up to protect Amur falcons, their winged guests, people of the famous and picturesque Shirui village in Tangkhul-Naga dominated Ukhrul district have decided to ban killing and hunting of animal and birds there for three years. For the first time in Manipur, people of Shirui village have decided to completely ban hunting and killing of animals by putting a curb on all weapons, including airguns.

Nestled 13-km away from Ukhrul district headquarters, the Shirui village located in the foothills of Shirui hills has three state treasures - state flower Shiruy lily (Lilium mackliniae), state tree Uningthou (Phoebe hainesiana) and state bird Nongin (Mrs. Hume's Pheasant). The annual Shirui Lily festival, celebrated in honour of the state flower, Shirui lily, has been a grand attraction here.

In 1948, Britisher Frank Kingdon Ward discovered Shirui lily (Lilium mackliniae). The beautiful flower blooms in the month of May and June, and in 1989 the state government declared Shirui lily as the state flower.

Besides prohibiting killing of animals and birds within the village jurisdiction, Shirui village authorities have also put a total ban on using airguns and firearms to promote conservation and protect the biodiversity of the area for three years with effect from the current month, said a letter submitted to divisional forest officer (Ukhrul) a few days back. For proper and effective implementation of biodiversity conservation, the village heads also requested the forest officer to issue a drone to them, said the letter.

"Deer, wild boars, bears, monkeys and endangered birds have been targets of poaching. Migratory Shiri (Grey-sided thrush) and Amur falcon have arrived in large numbers in our village this winter season and we have imposed the ban at the right time to stop killing of the winged visitors," village head of Shirui Aze, Soyo A Wungsek, told TOI.