SAMBALPUR: With an objective of creating awareness on forest conservation and providing sustainable livelihood opportunities for people living in fringe-villages, the Forest department has started a training programme on vegetable and mushroom farming for them.
Sambalpur DFO Sanjeet Kumar said people residing near forests indulge in cutting trees and hunt wild animals and such activities have increased in the past few months as they lost their livelihood due to the pandemic.
“Taking this into consideration, we decided to train them on various types of farming and make them aware of the importance of conserving forest resources,” he said.
In the first phase, villages under Jujumura and Maneswar block are being covered. So far, two training sessions have been completed in Padiabahal and Laida and the third started in Bandijharan on Tuesday.
On an average, 35 beneficiaries are being trained in each session.