DHANI HILL during monsoons
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Panchmauja
The Dhani South Panch Mauza Jungle Surakshaya Samiti has been awarded "The BEST Van Surakshaya Samiti 09 (Forest Protection Committee)" in Orissa. The award was given by Mr. Naveen Patnaik, the honorable Chief Minister of Orissa. The committee was felicitated with a CERTIFICATE and a cash prize of Rs. ONE LAKH.
Okay here’s a story… a real story…
There was once a hill called Dhani (about an hour or one and a half hours away from bhubaneshwar) as I have mentioned before. So long back, this hill was covered densely with trees, trees and more trees. Then ofcourse, humans( homo sapiens) had to interfere and dominate over everything! So, they started cutting trees for various self interests. You know how mean and selfish we human beings are. We want all luxuries and we generally ignore the other species living and sharing the same environment. Yes, so man(or woman) just thought.. since there are so many trees, let me cut some and nothing’s going to change. A lot of people thought so. *imagine, if a more powerful species started thinking… oh, there are so many human beings, if some of them(human beings) are just cut down, it won’t matter.* The entire forest, which was once densely populated with the tree families, which was home to quite a few animals was GONE.
Once it was gone, the stupid human being was in trouble. The rainfall was low, the water levels, even lower. There was no fuel wood. People used to even make houses with them. So,man was really in trouble now. Basically, insaan ki watt lag gayi. In its greed, he forgot, that it could affect him too. The forests were gone. The hill looked ugly. The animals lost home.
So when human beings around that place realised of their stupidity of cutting down forests irrationally, people from 5 villages came together to form the Panchmauja Vana Suraksha Samiti in 1987. The five villages were Arjunpur, Balarampur, kiapalla, barapalli, and panaspur. They planted trees on a large scale in patches. They guarded the forest as their own property. They would fine anybody who would cut trees and punish him too. People from the five villages used to personally go to guard the forest turn by turn. They have been looking after their forest for 20 years now, which I feel is a very long time. The Dhani forest is rich with a large number of trees now. Bamboo forests, cashew plantations, mango trees and a lot of other stuff can be found there. Some medicinal plants are also found. The hill looks beautiful. I actually got to see various shades of green in one place.
Forests are beautiful places. We should really not tamper with it. It took 20 years to get it back. The people realised their mistake. So why don’t we learn from their mistake? Let’s please be more considerate, more caring and stop being a dominating species. If they can share their environment with other flora and fauna, why can’t we? We really need to question ourselves. Some of the things we use, some of the things which other people use comes after murdering these trees. So we should question. And even if a tree is cut, let’s learn to plant another and take care of it. And mind you, it takes a lot of time for it to grow. So please think about it!
I really admire the dhani panchmauja people. They have seen the effects, acted at the right time and now they have got their forest back. So do we wait for the entire world to be devoid of forests? I guess, not.
Dhani is 12 km away from Tangi of dist. Khurda is famous for its rich biodiversity in whole of Orissa. The community protected Dhani forest is spread over 839 hectare of land. Dhani forest is protected by the ‘Panchmauja Vana Suraksha Samiti’ which was formally constituted on 1.10.1987 by the villagers of 5 villages known as “Panchmauja”.
Evolution:
Initially the story was something else. This forest was totally controlled by the govt who gave the lease of the forest to a corporation. Then vast felling of trees led to deforestation resulting in lack of rainfall, fuel wood and wood to make the roof of house. This resulted in drought leading to suffering of the villagers. They had to go 25-30 km away to collect fuel wood. Then villagers decided to protect the forest and formed a community organization known as ‘Panchmauja Vana Surakshya Samiti’. Initially the members were the elderly persons of the villages and subsequently the membership opened for all. Initially they didn’t have any support from the government. But after 10 years in 1997, government supported 200 hectares of forest under ‘Joint Forest Management’ act.
Governance:
Core committee consists of 25 members selected by the villagers. They have tenure of 2 years. The core committee has representation from each village and from both genders too. Both Forest Ranger and DFO are notified about the newly selected committee. The committee maintains its own ‘Cashbook’ and ‘resolution book’. The committee selects its ‘President, Secretary and Cashier’ for smooth functioning of the committee. The members once selected can by reselected for next term based on their performance.
The committee members meet on monthly basis. But in case of need emergency meeting may be called. If the member is absent on that day the children of that person attend the meeting.
Modus operandi:
Ø In the beginning “THENGA PALI” was followed wherein five members from each village used to go to forest and next day morning keep the Thenga (wooden stick) in front of next persons home.
Ø Later when they got enough funds they appointed two persons as forest watchman @ INR 1500/person/month.
Ø Now after JFM forest department provided one forest guard.
Awards and recognition:
Ø ‘Prakriti Mitra’ award in 1998 (trophy and Rs. 5000/-)
Ø ‘Indira Priyadarshini’ award in 2002 from the chief minister of Orissa Mr. Naveen Pattnaik (Trophy and Rs. 1,00,000/-)
Ø Younger Mad Ostel from Sweden studied Dhani forest for two years.
Roles and responsibilities:
Ø Protection of forest.
Ø Approval of villagers request for various activities e.g. renovation of house etc.
Ø Dealing with criminals as per committee rules and regulations.
Penalty:
Accused is dealt as per the law of committee. Penalty may be reduced in case accused person surrenders and accept the guilt. In a recent case they collected penalty as high as INR 35000/-
Resources:
The fund comes from different heads
Ø Own fund (one handful rice/family/month)
Ø Government contribution
Ø Re-leasing of cashew nut orchard
Ø Reward and prize money
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
some pics from manglajodi and dhani
into the forest..
hmmm... nice
tern
stilt
ruddy shelduck
purple heron
giant squirrel
egret
brahminy ducks
brahminy kite
wagtail
i think this is the open billed stork, if im not wrong..
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Beera
Beera Behera, better known as Beera Baya.
Beera is a middle-aged person, a resident of the village, Manglajodi. he belongs to the bijaya patna ward in Manglajodi. He belongs to the fishermen family. As manglajodi is a creek from the lake chilika, the creek is full with fishes. A lot of the most beautiful birds come here. it is a home for a lot of migratory birds too. Beera was a fisherman but later he turned into a bird poacher. But now my friends, he has left poaching for 10 years, protecting the birds in manglajodi and he actually feels for the birds which are killed. He has lived life the hard way. After talking to him, I got to learn a lot about life.
quite a lot of people in Manglajodi are quite poor and illiterate. a lot of the people have migrated to other towns and cities in search of work. they used to be fishermen earlier, but since , this part of chilika is almost dry, the fishing oppurtunities are few. most of these fishermen are now labourers who work outside manglajodi. they are still a few fishermen in the village but they have a very tough life. C.P.S.W.( council of professional social workers) and wild orissa are working on a project about eco-tourism and conserving the birds in manglajodi. they are finding ways to provide livelihood to these villagers who are in search of work and who want to save their village from getting destroyed and devoid of the beautiful birds for whom manglajodi is their home.
Beera used to kill thousands and thousands of birds and he used to make a lot of money everyday. the villagers have protested against it. but he has fought with the villagers. they had almost isolated him. he and quite a lot of his friends who were poachers have been beaten up by villages. finally, Mr. Nandalal Bhujabal, spoke to these people and made them realise of the serious crime they had been committing and he made them swear to the gods in the temple not to kill any other bird. infact, they have been protecting the birds. it's been 10 years, they had been watching over the lake. and if they saw anyone shooting a bird,they would catch hold of him and take him to the forest department.
Beera has to look after a family of 6 members. he has 2 daughters, one of which is 3 and a half years old and is still not walking. he hasn't got enough money to show her to a doctor. he is being paid 2000 rupees per month. but even then that's quite less, right? but he has faith in the organisation. he got back the respect which he had once lost. he's living with his village folks.
he patrols the place looking out for poachers. he's working to make bamboo huts in dhani, near manglajodi. he and his 10 other friends who left poaching and decided to protect the area, have recieved eco guide training and they know each and everything about that place. so whenever tourists come, they are the best eco-guides who can show the place around and let them know about every little detail. people like Beera are waiting for the whole infrastructure work is over so that tourists start coming in and they would start having a good income.
Beera says, he has faith and he hopes things work out for him. he has been waiting for 10 years now.sometimes he feels desperate to go back to his earlier life but he can't ,because he has promised and he is strong. he'll work really hard, earn respect and support his family.
was it his fault that he wasn't educated? was it his fault that he wasn't born rich enough? still he is striving for a better future, atleast for his daughters. now he respects education. he proudly says, my niece is studying in the chandpur college.
Beera is a middle-aged person, a resident of the village, Manglajodi. he belongs to the bijaya patna ward in Manglajodi. He belongs to the fishermen family. As manglajodi is a creek from the lake chilika, the creek is full with fishes. A lot of the most beautiful birds come here. it is a home for a lot of migratory birds too. Beera was a fisherman but later he turned into a bird poacher. But now my friends, he has left poaching for 10 years, protecting the birds in manglajodi and he actually feels for the birds which are killed. He has lived life the hard way. After talking to him, I got to learn a lot about life.
quite a lot of people in Manglajodi are quite poor and illiterate. a lot of the people have migrated to other towns and cities in search of work. they used to be fishermen earlier, but since , this part of chilika is almost dry, the fishing oppurtunities are few. most of these fishermen are now labourers who work outside manglajodi. they are still a few fishermen in the village but they have a very tough life. C.P.S.W.( council of professional social workers) and wild orissa are working on a project about eco-tourism and conserving the birds in manglajodi. they are finding ways to provide livelihood to these villagers who are in search of work and who want to save their village from getting destroyed and devoid of the beautiful birds for whom manglajodi is their home.
Beera used to kill thousands and thousands of birds and he used to make a lot of money everyday. the villagers have protested against it. but he has fought with the villagers. they had almost isolated him. he and quite a lot of his friends who were poachers have been beaten up by villages. finally, Mr. Nandalal Bhujabal, spoke to these people and made them realise of the serious crime they had been committing and he made them swear to the gods in the temple not to kill any other bird. infact, they have been protecting the birds. it's been 10 years, they had been watching over the lake. and if they saw anyone shooting a bird,they would catch hold of him and take him to the forest department.
Beera has to look after a family of 6 members. he has 2 daughters, one of which is 3 and a half years old and is still not walking. he hasn't got enough money to show her to a doctor. he is being paid 2000 rupees per month. but even then that's quite less, right? but he has faith in the organisation. he got back the respect which he had once lost. he's living with his village folks.
he patrols the place looking out for poachers. he's working to make bamboo huts in dhani, near manglajodi. he and his 10 other friends who left poaching and decided to protect the area, have recieved eco guide training and they know each and everything about that place. so whenever tourists come, they are the best eco-guides who can show the place around and let them know about every little detail. people like Beera are waiting for the whole infrastructure work is over so that tourists start coming in and they would start having a good income.
Beera says, he has faith and he hopes things work out for him. he has been waiting for 10 years now.sometimes he feels desperate to go back to his earlier life but he can't ,because he has promised and he is strong. he'll work really hard, earn respect and support his family.
was it his fault that he wasn't educated? was it his fault that he wasn't born rich enough? still he is striving for a better future, atleast for his daughters. now he respects education. he proudly says, my niece is studying in the chandpur college.
Banamara Das- a hunter, a poacher or a doctor?
When Banamara Das was small, barapalli had no schools, so he had a tuition teacher who taught him how to read and write. There were no notebooks, pens, slates or chalks then. His teacher would just clean the ground and write on the soil with his fingers. That’s how benamra learnt how to read and write. And now, he has read several books on life, the epics, the Vedas, the puranas, books on medicine, ayurveda. these books had been written on talapatra. He is a really learned person. He also made schools in the village of arjunpur.
Wonder how he started killing animals? Benamara Das started hunting animals since he was 12 years old. He had his riffle which was issued in the name of his grandfather. Hunting was considered an act of bravery at that time. People were rewarded then. Whenever he killed a tiger, a lion, or a bear, he would be called in court, not to be accused of killing an animal but to be rewarded with a certificate with 350 rupees. When benamara das was asked how he felt about killing animals, he’d animatedly say, “I felt great, there was not a better hunter than me. No animal could escape me. “
When Banamara Das was 15, he met a british couple who had come hunting. He was just sitting with them in the forests when he noticed a deer passing. He tried to show the couple the deer twice. But they missed seeing it and didn’t believe him at all. Banamara just took the riffle and shot the deer. That is when the couple believed. Infact they wanted to adopt benamara, but his father refused. Benamara Das tells this story very happily.
When Benamara Das is asked what he did with the animals, he’d say, that he just gave it to his friends and family. He never sold anything. They would take the animal’s skin or horns. And the birds were edible, so that would be cooked for meals.
He loved hunting. He was sent to various parts of Orissa by the government to hunt animals. He went to phulbani, sonpur, puri,kendujhar, bolangir, patna, etc . Heused to go everywhere. He was an expert.
When asked, which was the best part of his life, he said, when he joined the army at the age of 25. He served the army for around 5 years. He really loved army life. It was his father who called him back as he was not keeping well. He said, he would die if he didn’t see his son. Banamara came back, and on seeing his sick father, went to various doctors and vaidyas for treatment. He got whatever they told him to get but his father would be well for sometime and again he’d be ill. Finally, nothing could help him. It was then when he started reading. His family had a large chest filled with books in talapatra, really ancient books. There were books in ayurveda. His friend also gave him several books. Benamara started curing his father himself. He would get the herbs in the forest and extracts of animals and make medicines with them. His father started feeling much better. His father was finally cured. The old man lived for 25 more years. Benamara realised the results of reading. So he arranged for more books and he kept on reading and gaining knowledge.
He has knowledge of 4 different types of medicine:
Kabiraj- the study of ayurveda,
Nagantak- is the study of curing people who are bitten by animals,
Gaushashtra-veterinary,
And the study of curing small children.
He mastered over these four areas. He cures people and animals and doesn’t charge a penny. He says, he doesn’t trust any of the doctors. And says, these doctors just learn and then forget. He doesn’t believe in their study.
Has he ever been to jail? Well, yes, he had been to the lockup several times. But he never feared anyone. He’d say, “sir, you might miss a shot killing me but I won’t.”
He would just pay a fine. And he was out.
Now, he has left hunting. He is reading the bhagwat geeta sitting on the veranda of his house. He has 3 sons and 3 daughters looking after him. He now commits that he had committed the sin of killing animals. ”paapa toh karichi” .
My very first day at Dhani
Dhani Dhani-22nd may
On my first day in C.P.S.W, I got to know about a project they are doing in dhani and manglajodi on wildlife conservation and eco tourism, two villages near tangi in orissa and I got to know how they are planning to make it a eco tourist place, create livelihood for people in the villages and make people aware of forest and wildlife conservation.
So I was quite excited to work for it. I went to dhani the very same day. It was actually quite hot. I went with Dr.Pankaj and Mr.Param and some officials of CPDO. As we moved out of bhubaneshwar, the roads were even better and the scenery was beautiful. We reached there in an hour. It was around 2. Dhani is a hill, with villages around it. It’s a very small place. The village seemed empty. It was a summer afternoon. So in orissa, after lunch, people go to sleep and then go back to work. The work for the project had started. The information centre was being constructed. Some area had been cleaned for the bamboo huts.
Then we went to see the ashok jhara. Well, that was beautiful. The road hasn’t been made. So we had to go on foot. And the 1st thing which came to my mind when I saw that place was peace and beauty. It was totally quiet. The trail had deer footprints. There were dried leaves on the trail and around that place. Lovely mango and bamboo tress. You could actually smell those mango tress. There were thorny bamboo trees. It was very green and there were shrubs everywhere, it must have rained recently. There were things like lizards moving on the dried leaves, so it was creepy.
The ashok jhara had less water but with the monsoons coming, it will surely be full. It’s a closed waterbody and people are not allowed to fish generally. People do take water from it for farming purposes. It has got a watch tower for birds. Some of the most beautiful birds are supposed to be seen here. I was lucky enough to see a white kingfisher that day. There were birds which just touched the water and flew away. It was a calm and quiet afternoon. All you could hear were the birds chirping and the silent waterbody dazzling with the suns rays. There are trails to reach the hilltop. It’s a thick dense forest. It is actually an amazing place for birdwatchers and people who like to see forests and feel nature in its raw form. This place is so fresh and completely untouched. People just don’t know that such a beautiful place exists. Nature lovers just go to chilka as it’s a well known tourist place. But this too is beautiful.
This place just needs some help as the people here are generally uneducated. If we just help them a little, I’m sure tourists and the localites will love this place. There is so much to explore here, so much to learn from this place. One can actually spend hours, days, months , finding out this place. Nature lovers love to explore and find out the new sites as they want to find out nature’s secrets. Birds and animals find out such places on their own. Unlike humans they don’t need to advertise a place so that others would come and enjoy the place. It was a great experience.
So after seeing around, we went to the information centre area. There was a meeting there. women from five villages who had formed the panchamauja were meeting the officials from CPDO. As I mentioned before, it’s a summer afternoon in orissa, people had gone to sleep after lunch. So the meeting which was scheduled for 2 finally started at 4 and that too with very few women. Slowly, more and more women started coming. The senior official was trying to make them realise how strong and capable they are and how they can do so much to help themselves. He told them that he would give them training on raising chicken which would help them raise their income. There are a lot of social issues there. What I saw there, was this huge divide between the upper and the lower castes. I actually saw it. They were sitting separately. After telling them a lot and the sarpanch’s request, they decided to sit on the same tarpaulin but that too seeing to it that they are not touching each other! Such is life there. To bring about a big change there, people have to change their ways. They have to start thinking big. They have to start dreaming and they have to know that they are the owners of their land and they are ones who have to look after that place. They have to take its responsibility. They really should not neglect it.
Infact, it’s unbelievable to know, but the poachers in dhani have converted themselves to forest protectors which is a great thing. They know the forest totally well and they have amazing potential to be forest guides. They aren’t that well educated but they know everything about forests and birds. This place has such great potential. It’s just lack of education that they don’t realise its importance. How would they know that it’s high time we start doing things from saving earth unless they are educated. These people must be helped.
So we got out of there at around 6. the journey back was even more beautiful, with the fine cloudy weather and the wind blowing. After seeing that place, I get this feeling to actually work for it, and make an effort to help them in whatever way I can.
On my first day in C.P.S.W, I got to know about a project they are doing in dhani and manglajodi on wildlife conservation and eco tourism, two villages near tangi in orissa and I got to know how they are planning to make it a eco tourist place, create livelihood for people in the villages and make people aware of forest and wildlife conservation.
So I was quite excited to work for it. I went to dhani the very same day. It was actually quite hot. I went with Dr.Pankaj and Mr.Param and some officials of CPDO. As we moved out of bhubaneshwar, the roads were even better and the scenery was beautiful. We reached there in an hour. It was around 2. Dhani is a hill, with villages around it. It’s a very small place. The village seemed empty. It was a summer afternoon. So in orissa, after lunch, people go to sleep and then go back to work. The work for the project had started. The information centre was being constructed. Some area had been cleaned for the bamboo huts.
Then we went to see the ashok jhara. Well, that was beautiful. The road hasn’t been made. So we had to go on foot. And the 1st thing which came to my mind when I saw that place was peace and beauty. It was totally quiet. The trail had deer footprints. There were dried leaves on the trail and around that place. Lovely mango and bamboo tress. You could actually smell those mango tress. There were thorny bamboo trees. It was very green and there were shrubs everywhere, it must have rained recently. There were things like lizards moving on the dried leaves, so it was creepy.
The ashok jhara had less water but with the monsoons coming, it will surely be full. It’s a closed waterbody and people are not allowed to fish generally. People do take water from it for farming purposes. It has got a watch tower for birds. Some of the most beautiful birds are supposed to be seen here. I was lucky enough to see a white kingfisher that day. There were birds which just touched the water and flew away. It was a calm and quiet afternoon. All you could hear were the birds chirping and the silent waterbody dazzling with the suns rays. There are trails to reach the hilltop. It’s a thick dense forest. It is actually an amazing place for birdwatchers and people who like to see forests and feel nature in its raw form. This place is so fresh and completely untouched. People just don’t know that such a beautiful place exists. Nature lovers just go to chilka as it’s a well known tourist place. But this too is beautiful.
This place just needs some help as the people here are generally uneducated. If we just help them a little, I’m sure tourists and the localites will love this place. There is so much to explore here, so much to learn from this place. One can actually spend hours, days, months , finding out this place. Nature lovers love to explore and find out the new sites as they want to find out nature’s secrets. Birds and animals find out such places on their own. Unlike humans they don’t need to advertise a place so that others would come and enjoy the place. It was a great experience.
So after seeing around, we went to the information centre area. There was a meeting there. women from five villages who had formed the panchamauja were meeting the officials from CPDO. As I mentioned before, it’s a summer afternoon in orissa, people had gone to sleep after lunch. So the meeting which was scheduled for 2 finally started at 4 and that too with very few women. Slowly, more and more women started coming. The senior official was trying to make them realise how strong and capable they are and how they can do so much to help themselves. He told them that he would give them training on raising chicken which would help them raise their income. There are a lot of social issues there. What I saw there, was this huge divide between the upper and the lower castes. I actually saw it. They were sitting separately. After telling them a lot and the sarpanch’s request, they decided to sit on the same tarpaulin but that too seeing to it that they are not touching each other! Such is life there. To bring about a big change there, people have to change their ways. They have to start thinking big. They have to start dreaming and they have to know that they are the owners of their land and they are ones who have to look after that place. They have to take its responsibility. They really should not neglect it.
Infact, it’s unbelievable to know, but the poachers in dhani have converted themselves to forest protectors which is a great thing. They know the forest totally well and they have amazing potential to be forest guides. They aren’t that well educated but they know everything about forests and birds. This place has such great potential. It’s just lack of education that they don’t realise its importance. How would they know that it’s high time we start doing things from saving earth unless they are educated. These people must be helped.
So we got out of there at around 6. the journey back was even more beautiful, with the fine cloudy weather and the wind blowing. After seeing that place, I get this feeling to actually work for it, and make an effort to help them in whatever way I can.
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