Malkangiri: Forest officials have adopted a unique method to check soil erosion on several stretches of canal banks near this town.
They put up a check dam along the banks inside the forest near Bhairavi temple here using only waste plastic material.
The rainwater flowing down the hills not only drains out quickly into the canal making it unusable but also results in massive soil erosion on the banks. The forest department has adopted such a method to check the water flow and soil erosion, it was learnt.
The district environment committee launched a five-day awareness drive June 26 asking the people not to use plastic items. Use of plastic not only damages the fertility of the soil but also prevents groundwater recharge, citizens were told. The committee members also collected empty plastic bottles and polythene carry bags lying on roadsides in these five days. They managed to collect several truck-loads of plastic waste, officials said.
These plastic bottles, carry bags and other waste material were used in setting up a check dams to arrest soil erosion, assistant conservator of forests Srikant Nayak said.
Malkangiri ranger Basudev Nayak along with other forest officials and local NGO members chipped in during the unique exercise. The forest department’s initiative is widely appreciated.
PNN
