VIJAYAPURA: In the last quarter of 2017, when organisers of Koti Vruksha Abhiyana (one crore saplings campaign) visited the Karadadoddi area, adjacent to Bhutanal tank, it was completely barren.
Seven years later, it has transformed into a lush green forest with trees standing over 6-ft tall, attracting dozens of species of birds.
It is a story of dedication, hard work and commitment to increase the green cover of drought-prone Vijayapura district. The Karadadoddi forest development project is part of Koti Vruksha Abhiyana, with one crore saplings to be planted in Vijayapura district over five years.
Murgesh Pattanshetty, coordinator of Koti Vruksha Abhiyana Pratishthana, said the main purpose of the project is to increase the forest cover, improve rainfall and generate more oxygen in the environment.
The project was executed by distributing saplings to farmers though nurseries, and even private NGOs were involved in promoting the project extensively.
He said that unlike districts such as Bagalkot and Belagavi in North Karnataka, Vijayapura has limited forest land, and more agricultural land. Therefore, the Pratishtana had to identify the only available non-forest land for planting the saplings.
“We identified lands of schools and college, and revenue land in rural areas where the Prathistana, with the help of the forest department, distributed at least 25 lakh plants each year,” he said.
Spreading awareness
Initially, the Pratishthana and Forest Department had to hold camps to distribute saplings and raise awareness. But soon, they reached a stage where farmers came in large numbers and stood in queues to collect the saplings. The Forest department was forced to limit the distribution of saplings to control the crowd.
As many as 124 varieties of saplings were identified for distribution, and were planted at different locations.
“Initially, the farmers objected to taking saplings as they wanted a particular variety. Based on their need, saplings of mango, sapota, custard apple, and commercial plants such as sandalwood, red sanders, Malabar neem etc were distributed,” he said.
Pattanshetty said that besides the Pratishthana, other NGOs in the district, like Society for Protection of Plants and Animals (SPPA), Hasiru Torana Balaga of Muddebihal taluk, Hasiru Sampada of Talikot taluk and Nanna Gida, Nanna Bhumi of Vijayapura city also joined hands.
Founder of SPPA Dhruva Patil has been bringing Indian and foreign students to show them the forest areas being developed. He believes it is the right time to start planting saplings extensively and prevent air pollution in the coming days.
Why Karadadoddi
Located around 8km from the city, Karadadoddi is spread over 540 acres, the biggest patch of land owned by the Revenue department close to Vijayapura city. The reason for selecting Karadadoddi was its proximity to Bhutanal tank, where water is easily available for the saplings.
Pattanshetty said that it was minister MB Patil, who was then handling the irrigation portfolio and was Vijayapura district minister, who convinced the district administration to hand over the land to the Forest department to take up plantation work.
“The objective of the campaign is primarily to increase forest cover of Vijayapura district, which is just 0.17 per cent as against the national average of 33 per cent,” Pattanshetty said.
On the challenges faced by the Forest department in converting barren land into a forest, ACF, Almatti Forest Division Ramesh Chavan said that the major challenge was the hard terrain of Karadadoddi. In order to make pits for planting saplings, the Forest department used breakers and earthmovers, and planted over 67,000 saplings of over 70 varieties of plants.
He said that since the terrain is rocky, it was important to select plants that are suitable for the land, mainly those that need little water and can withstand scorching summers.
“We took the challenge and worked with the Forest department and district administration, without whose support, this mega challenge could not have been met,” he said.
Chavan said that initially, a decision was taken to supply water through drip irrigation, but as micro irrigation did not work efficiently, they had to deploy water tankers during summers.
“We used eight tankers daily for over two months to supply water to the plants and save them, during the drought. Planting saplings was one challenge, ensuring they survive was another,” Chavan said.
He believes that in the next 10 years, Karadadoddi will be a very different place with flora and fauna, making it a biodiverse spot with increasing green cover. Pattanshetty said that MB Patil plans to have recreational facilities such as a walking track, garden, aquarium, food court etc, in the forest area.
Mahantesh Bijjaragi, a businessman and walking enthusiast, said that he has been walking in Karadadoddi forest every morning for the past three years. “Vijayapura needs more such plantations. People should be made aware of the importance of forests and greenery,” he said.