Plea for biosphere reserve status to Mahendragiri
Bhubaneswar: A consultation workshop on ‘Integrated Development of Mahendragiri Hill Complex’ was organised by the Odisha Environmental Society in association with Mahendragiri Surakshya Samiti here Sunday.
In the workshop, the experts demanded for a biosphere reserve status to Mahendragiri Hill Complex on the Eastern Ghats in Gajapati district.
Jaya Krushna Panigrahi secretary of OES said that the forest ecosystem at Mahendragiri was dense and inaccessible in the past.
Mahendragiri Surakhya Samiti president, Laxmi Baba, said that the flora and fauna of Mahendragiri hill complex represents Himalayan as well as peninsular Deccan Plateau species. Mahendragiri hill complex is the natural habitat of the tribes including the primitive Lanjia saura, Sudha saura and Bhima saura. The other tribes include Kondh, Gond, Santal and Kolh.