Kamakhyanagar: The Anantapur forest under this block in Dhenkanal district has regained its green look once more thanks to tireless effort of the Kanpura villagers.
Close to three decades back, these villagers themselves had destroyed the forest by mindless felling of trees as their livelihood depended on selling of firewood. A day however, came when there was not a single tree to be felled.
This development made them sit back and introspect. They all pledged to replenish the lost greenery and got working in 1992. First, they got rid of all the weeds and bushes. Then they sowed seeds of trees like ‘sal’ and ‘piasal’ and started nurturing them.
Cut to 2020, the forest is now spread over 200 hectares and seems to have regained its lost green glory. This has only been possible due to the honest and tireless efforts of the Kanpura villagers.
These nature lovers have not just resurrected the forest, they are protecting it also. They have formed the ‘Kanpura Prakruti Suraksha Samiti’ to look after the trees.
In order to realise what ‘Kanpura Prakruti Suraksha Samiti’ has achieved, one needs to travel two kilometres from Jiridamali on Kamakhyanagar-Kankadahad road. And from there one can see the dense green foliage of the forest.
Even timber mafias do not venture in the area as they fear the members of the Samiti. The members guard the forest in two shifts – one from morning to evening and the second group from night till dawn the next day. “We are happy today, not only because of the forest but because our common interest has united us all,” they observed.
Panchayatiraj High School, managed by the villagers, is another feather in their caps. The school has been adjudged as one of the best schools in Odisha.
PNN