KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, Aug 12: Jamshedpur division of the state forest department on Monday planted over one lakh saplings of plants in the Chakulia forest range area in East Singhbhum bordering Bengal.
The massive tree plantation drive carried out on a single day was to mark World Elephant Day today.
Revealing about the program, Jamshedpur divisional forest officer Saba Alam said that the tree plantation was done keeping the interest of the elements which use to move around in the Chakulia forest and sometimes stray into the adjoining human habitats.
“In all 1,15,500 saplings of bamboo and fruit-bearing trees have been planted. We have planted those trees the elephants are fond of. Moreover, these saplings have been planted in a stretch which is away from the human habitats, ” said Alam while talking to The Jharkhand Story.
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He pointed out that the idea behind creating an exclusive forest stretch for the elephants is to prevent the pachyderms from straying into the villages in search of food.
The DFO stated that the tree plantation was carried out bordering as many as 99 villages across the Chakulia forest which serves as an elephant corridor between Dalma and the Midnapur district of West Bengal.
According to the senior forest officer, the residents of all 99 villages participated in the tree plantation drive in tandem with the forest department officials.
Significantly, on the occasion of World Elephant Day, a special program was organised at Makulakocha in the foothills of Dalma at the behest of Dalma range officer Dinesh Chandra.
During this program, 150 school children participated in an essay competition on elephants. The children were later made to go around the zoological garden where they were given an opportunity to learn about different animals found in the Dalma Hills.
