Kolkata holds its first Zoohackathon, a tech-challenge to

Sixteen teams, comprising students of higher educational institutes and working professionals, demonstrated tech-based solutions to stop wildlife trafficking at an event here.

New Delhi was the first Indian city to host such an event in November 2017, while it is being held for the first time in the eastern metropolis.

The U.S. Consulate General Kolkata is partnering with WWF-India, TRAFFIC India and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCC&I) to host the two-day 'Zoohackathon', which began here on Saturday.

The 'Zoohackathon', which had started in 2016, is a global tech challenge to find technology-driven solutions to combat wildlife trafficking and the Kolkata event is part of that initiative.

Sixteen teams, each having two to six members, got five minutes to present their project before an expert panel comprising wildlife experts, a US consulate spokesman said here on Sunday.

"The participating teams create solutions to help detect traffickers and educate the public through mobile apps and other software. At the end of the 'Zoohackathon', teams present their solutions to a panel of judges," he said.

The 'Zoohackathon', being held all over the world, aims to brings together students of higher educational institutes and wildlife enthusiasts. Each team is given 48 hours each to develop technology-based solutions to address wildlife trafficking challenges.

The event is being organised in 16 cities, including Kolkata and New Delhi, across 14 different countries this year.