Keonjhar: People in this district have been suffering due to the scorching temperatures that are hovering around the 43-degree Celsius mark. Now they are also realising the utility of mango trees that were once found in large numbers in almost all the villages of this district. The lack of mango trees has made the lives of human beings, animals and birds miserable. There is chorus in almost all the villages of the district to restore the old glory of the mango trees. Deforestation and lack of proper planning of plantations have led to the unnecessary felling of mango trees in many places.
People have now realised the utility of mango orchards locally known as ‘Amba Totas’. These ‘Amba Totas’ used to be the go-to places for the residents of the villages. Now the mango orchards are being missed more as the elections draw near. Earlier political parties used to organise meetings under mango trees. Now with most villages not having a single mango tree, such meetings have become rare occurrences. “Holding meetings in a natural environment used to be a very good option. Now it is not there anymore,” said Subrat Mohanty, a local BJP leader. The ‘Amba Totas’ were venues for socialising in almost all the villages. People used to rest under the trees, meetings were organised, kids played under them and at times feasted on both raw and ripe mangoes.
The mango trees used to be the conglomeration points in all the villages. Even fairs like ‘Raja’ used to be organised inside ‘Amba Totas’ as they provided relief from the hot weather. Locals pointed out that natural calamities as well as urbanisation has led to a rapid decrease in the number of mango orchards. Now however, people are realising the importance of the ‘Amba Totas’. “Mango orchards are a good method to protect the environment and get protection from the heat. The trees can also minimise pollution,” said environmentalist Dr. Bimbadhar Behera. Fakir Chandra Mishra, a senior citizen lamented the disappearance of mango orchards. “It used to be a good place to meet and talk. Now we hardly socialise and one of the reasons is the absence of mango trees,” Mishra stated. “Concrete forests have become a huge problem in our lives. In our times there were no AC rooms or other facilities. However, we had our share of enjoyment under the shades of mango trees,” he added.