Somewhere In Majuli

In the year 1979, while India was caught in party politics and shuffling Prime Ministers a young boy was staring at the remains of reptiles on barren land.

He was perturbed by the sight and began to ponder the reason for such adversity. Sixteen years old then, the boy ran to his elders to inquire if the same could happen to humans residing on the island? He was quietened by a facetious remark.

World's Largest River Island

Initially known as Majoli - the land in between two parallel rivers, the island has added many stories to its minacious life. Formed by the Brahmaputra river in the south and Kherkutia Xuti, ( joined by the Subansiri River in the north)the island is inhabited by Mising tribes, Deori and Sonowal Kachri tribes. The people of the island speak Mising, Assamese, and Deori languages.

Due to the frequent flooding of the Brahmaputra river and its changing course, Majuli suffers heavy erosion and excessive heat post floods. This offsets the vegetation growth. Precisely what caused the death of snakes on the sand bar!

Jadav Molai Payeng or the Forest Man Of India as he would be known in the future dedicated his life to the cause of planting trees. He immediately planted 20 Bamboo saplings, to create a habitat for snakes. Molai soon found himself inveterated in the process of afforestation. As a worker to plant saplings in the region, he signed up for the social forestry tree plantation scheme. While others moved back to different work once the plantation was completed, Molai stayed to take care of the young plants.

In 2008, the forest department searched for a herd of elephants that had caused havoc in the nearby village of Aruna Chapori.

Officials were amazed to find layers of thick green. A forest!

Payeng has created a forest, which now is the home of many wildlife species like the Bengal Tiger and is also an elephant corridor! In 2015 he was honored with Padma Shri. The forest has been named the "Molai Forest".

The conclusion being, today we all are encountering issues with our ecosystem. We need to understand the fragility of the ecosystems we live in, also the ones we have created. Solutions need to be found and quickly executed. We need to map our daily activities that are injuring the ecosystem.

The toothbrush you use ends up as the most commonly found plastic waste on the beaches. I am sharing a link below, help yourself to recycle your toothbrush. Try opting for biodegradable items as and when possible.

LET'S START BY SAYING AN ABSOLUTE NO TO PLASTIC!

Molai is an inspiration. What we have to learn from him is "Solve the immediate problem, one at a time!"

LINK:https://www.bambooindia.com/2019/03/04/an-eco-friendly-exchange/