Officials go all out to rejuvenate barren forest land in Nirmal district
Enriched natural regeneration and water availability has brought back the wildlife into the forest range
Hyderabad: The Forest Department, as part of its efforts to rejuvenate the forest in the barren patch of 160 acre under Dasturabad Reserve Forest in the core area of Kawal Reserve Forest, took up several measures including steps to retain moisture levels in the soil and prevent soil erosion. Wild growth and weeds were cleared around every plant.
Similarly, under holistic approach covering the entire area, staggered trenches, farm ponds and mini percolation tanks were constructed to increase ground water table and ensure regular water supply to the saplings and to the wild animals, Khanapur FDO U Koteswara Rao told Telangana Today.
Once the saplings grew to a particular height, ensuring their survival turned out to be an even more challenging task due to cattle grazing and human trespassing. To address this, the department took up bio-fencing by planting Gachakaya (fever nut) along the peripheral boundary, he said, adding that fruit bearing plants and bamboos were also planted for bund formation. The final step was creating inspection pathways or sector lines. The exercise to prepare fire lines is taken up during January and February annually to prevent plants from catching fire in summers, he explained.
Forest rejuvenation operations and appropriate forestry interventions executed by the department helped in enhancing the forest cover and this can be clearly noticed through Google images if one compares the images in 2014 and in the later years, Koteswara Rao pointed out.
Enriched natural regeneration and water availability has brought back the wildlife into the forest range. Monkeys, spotted deers, sambars, nilgais and other wild animals and different birds have now made this area their home, he added.
“All these measures have indirectly aided in Tiger conservation as well. With increased prey base in the area, movements of tigers and have also been noticed,” said Rao.
On July 5, 2015, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao led from the front and planted a banyan sapling in the area under the first edition of Haritha Haram. On the same day, plantation of record one lakh saplings in a single day was taken up.
The banyan sapling planted by the Chief Minister, which was about a metre then, has grown over six metres in height. The department has installed a tree guard with a board describing the details.
Also read:
Barren land transformed into lush green forest in Nirmal
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