Post News Network
Nuapada, Sept 26: Even as the government has launched several schemes to protect forests and create new ones, they fail to yield desired results more often than not.
However, a village in Nuapada district is a case in point, where residents have created a forest on their own without any government aid and have been guarding it on their own for the last 40 years. This has not only helped increase green cover in the area, it has also promoted unity and brotherhood in the village.
Amasena, a village with a population of 4,000, is located three km away from Khariar Road town and eight km from the district headquarters. It has been accorded panchayat status. While all of the residents of the village depend on paddy cultivation for their livelihood, they also consider the village forest one of the major sources of their sustenance.
The villagers have developed a dense forest sprawling over 100 acres of land around the village. One look at the village and it becomes difficult to withdraw from its scenic glory. “This has not come to fruition overnight. We have worked hard round-the-clock for the last 40 years to maintain the jungle,” said an elderly Naku Sahoo of the village.
The villagers said they plant twice the number of trees that are felled every year. They have never received any government assistance for the protection of the forest which comprises plant species like Char, Mahua, Sal, Piasal and bamboo in thousands of numbers, village committee president Chunlal Sahoo said. The villagers guard the forest in turn. The committee imposes a fine of Rs10,000 on whoever is caught stealing timber from the forest.
Every year, the villagers chop down withered trees and sell it among themselves. Similarly, Char and Mahua trees are given on a tender basis that enables some families of the village to eke out a living. The earnings are spent on community festivals celebrated in the village. Residents of nearby villages also collect wood and leaves for observing festivals in their houses.
Chandan Sahoo, sarpanch of the village, said the effort of the villagers is laudable and has set an example for others to follow. Such forests can be created in other villagers if the government provides some grant, Sahoo said.