Bhapur: More than fifty students planted saplings of the varieties used in chariot construction in Puri at Fatehgarh village in Nayagarh district Thursday, under the programme ‘Jaga pain gachha tie’ (a tree for lord Jagannath).
Each year, the timbers used in construction of Puri Rath Yatra chariots are sourced from Nayagarh district. Phasi and Asan are the types of trees used in chariot making.
While there used to be a good numbers of such varieties of trees in Nayagarh jungles, it has come down drastically over past decades owing to rapid deforestation. The situation has come to such a pass that people who have such trees in their backyards or farmlands are giving them away to the authorities.
That said, it has been difficult to arrange the specific timbers from private sources every year.
With a view to do their bit, several schools, government and non-government organisations have launched the campaign ‘Jaga pain gachha tie’ that aims at creating new forests.
As a part of this campaign, more than fifty students of Fatehgarh area Thursday went to the forest, collected Phasi and Asan saplings and planted them on the embankment of Nuapokhari, their village pond. A number of locals helped them indentify the saplings and plant correctly.
PNN