Bhubaneswar: A consultation workshop on ‘Integrated Development of Mahendragiri Hill Complex’ was organised by the Odisha Environmental Society in association with Mahendragiri Surakshya Samiti here Sunday.
In the workshop, the experts demanded for a biosphere reserve status to Mahendragiri Hill Complex on the Eastern Ghats in Gajapati district.
Jaya Krushna Panigrahi secretary of OES said that the forest ecosystem at Mahendragiri was dense and inaccessible in the past.
Mahendragiri Surakhya Samiti president, Laxmi Baba, said that the flora and fauna of Mahendragiri hill complex represents Himalayan as well as peninsular Deccan Plateau species. Mahendragiri hill complex is the natural habitat of the tribes including the primitive Lanjia saura, Sudha saura and Bhima saura. The other tribes include Kondh, Gond, Santal and Kolh.
The tribals used to collect tamarind, Siali leaf, Sal leaf and seeds, arrowroot, date palm (local name Khajuri) sap, Kochila seeds, hill broom, timber, bamboo, cane and several varieties of medicinal plants like Patalgaruda and Dhatuki from Mahendragiri forests. The forest products are purely organic in nature and known for their rich minerals and vitamins contents, Laxmi Baba added.
OES president SN Patro said that the Forest and Environment Department of Odisha had constituted a committee in 2011 to study the feasibility of constituting Mahendragiri Biosphere Reserve. The committee proposed for the creation of a biosphere reserve at Mahendragiri. However, the state government is yet to submit the proposal before the Union Government for according biosphere reserve status to the hill complex.
“The state government should send the proposal in this regard to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change,” Patro added.
Biosphere reserve status to the hill complex would create opportunities for eco-tourism and other developmental activities. Such a step will help promoting sustainable development of this withering unique ecosystem of Mahendragiri hill complex as well as enhance the socio-economic-cultural condition of the locals, opined several experts.
Convener of the workshop, Manoranjan Mishra, said that Mahendragiri has found mention in religious texts and epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. “The Tourism department of the state government should send a proposal to the Union Ministry of Tourism to include Mahendragiri in the Ramayana circuit. The department should also take steps to send a proposal to the UNESCO for inclusion of the hill complex in the World Heritage Sites,” Mishra added.
The experts also suggested that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should take steps to conserve ancient temple monuments in the hill complex.