Dhamnagar: Surendra Mohapatra, a resident of Pangata under Dhamnagar block in Bhadrak district, has scripted a success story in apiculture (beekeeping).
Having become self-reliant with this vocation, Surendra has been passionately encouraging people to adopt beekeeping as an additional means of income generation.
Every day, this diminutive man clad in dhoti goes out and spends about eight to 10 hours advising people about techniques and advantages of beekeeping. Sadly, the government is yet to take note of the man’s selfless efforts to promote apiculture.
From the very childhood, Surendra developed a passion for collecting beehives from trees, forests and stone crevices. At the age of 16, he dropped his studies and by that time had fully learnt the art of beekeeping from a field officer of the State Khadi Board.
At that time, Surendra was offered a job with a salary of Rs 80 per month by the board. But he refused the offer.
He wandered for about four decades in villages collecting honey from beehives located on skylights, tree hollows, stone crevices and brick kilns. Later, he adopted modern techniques of beekeeping in boxes and collecting swarms of bees and taught people how to set up boxes in gardens and on trees.
“Even catching bees is something that can fetch money handsomely. At the government level, a swarm of bees is sold for Rs 800, while I sell it for Rs 600,” Surendra said.
He has set up 60 bee boxes at Hasanabad, Bamkura, Bhattasahi, Sahaspur and Padhani panchayats. Surendra noted that flowers of karanja, mango, lemon and hinjala trees are rich sources of honey for bees.
He said a bee box will produce 8kg of honey annually. He sells the honey to the State Khadi Board.
Surendra is well versed with bee catching, grooming them into swarms, their maintenance and bee box fixing and honey collection.
In 2007, Jeeban Rekha Parishad, a voluntary organisation, had assigned him the job of imparting training to eight tribal women self-help groups.
Surendra said beekeeping is a profitable occupation. With his income from apiculture he has been managing his family expenses including the education expenses of his four children.
Surendra observed that the State Khadi Board can encourage youths to take up apiculture with financial help.