Leading with an example to safeguard forests the villagers in Garoora, Bandipora here have turned a vast open and barren land into forests for over a span of 15 years by planting different trees.
Some of this land belongs to villagers too, and two men recruited by the villagers are guarding the expanse.
The idea to turn the open land into forests struck more than a decade ago after the villager living downhill would face consistent flash floods accompanied by landslides triggered by incessant rains.
Elderly villager Ghulam Mohammad Lone said, “our land and houses would often get inundated which forced us to leave our homes, later all the villagers assembled and decided to plant trees over the uphill slopes. We also recruited guards for its protection.”
Lone said initially we recruited six men, but when the land began turning into the forest, we kept only two men for its further upkeep and also guarded the forests. According to Lone, the area spans over 1000 Kanals or 125 acres.
Apart from growing maize and lentils, the villagers, who were stuck by rains and landslides planted conifers, Himalayan silver fir, pine trees, Apricot, Walnuts, Kikar and medicinal plants like Simaroubaceae (Almathras). “We planted all these trees to avoid soil erosion so that lives and properties are saved,” Lone said.
Recalling the time when they had to flee their houses due to landslides, another villager Mohammad Akbar Lone said, “it is due to this problem that villagers decided to turn the barren land into forests. It initially started with contribution of eggs, hay, rice and some money to pay the guards to keep vigil.”
Despite the success the villagers are anguished over what they termed as uncooperative attitude of forest department. “We did everything and when an entire forest emerged here, suddenly some personnel of forest department start making undue interference,” he said. “They are not even acknowledging out hard work. We have given blood and swet to create this forest for over three decades.”
The villagers said that what should have been the work of forest department has been accomplished by them.
Abdul Majeed Lone said that they have kept two guards to protect the forest land and they go house to house in the village of over 150 households to collect money and other items as pay for them. The villagers appealed to authorities to supplement their efforts and help in planting more trees on the barren land. They also appealed general public to take a keen interest in saving the forests.
“There are various open areas behind and around the forests which the department must take into consideration and plant trees there,” Lone said.
DFO Bandipora, Shabir Ahmad told Greater Kashmir, the land belongs to the forest department and was allotted to the villagers way back in the 1960s under the “grow more food programme”.
Later when the land would slide down from the above by rains, the villagers assembled, helped and assisted the department by planting trees which ultimately revived the forest area, Ahmad said. He said that the land was demarcated as forest land, however, is under the grab of villagers.