SUBHASH MISHRA
Ranchi, August 9: On Raksha Bandhan, Jharkhand forest officials and villagers celebrated Vriksha Rakshabandhan in Silam–Ambatoli, a remote village in Naxal-affected Gumla district. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Sanjeev Kumar, Conservator of Forests T. Pandian, IFS probationer Adarsh, the Gumla Range Officer, over 100 villagers, and members of Joint Forest Management and Biodiversity Committees tied symbolic Rakhis to trees.
Bonding Communities with Forests
PCCF Sanjeev Kumar said the initiative aims to build emotional and practical commitment to tree protection.
“It supports water conservation and creates livelihoods from minor forest produce for communities otherwise reliant on daily wages,” he noted.
A 2005 Grassroots Idea That Spread Statewide
Launched by Kumar in 2005 while serving as Dhanbad DFO, the campaign began in Tundi block, where villagers pledged to protect trees by tying sacred cotton threads around them. The tradition spread quickly, and Kumar reintroduced it wherever he was posted, making Vriksha Rakshabandhan a state-wide movement — now in its 22nd year.
