JHARKHAND: Tribal woman Kandoni Soren, a home guard with Jamshedpur Police, is the custodian of about 100 hectares of forest near her village Sarakghutu under Musabani block of Jamshedpur district. At least 40 other women of the village help Kandoni. The voluntary work, including protecting the trees, has earned her the moniker ‘Jungle ki Sherni (tigress of the forests)’ among the locals.
Off-duty, whenever she gets time, Kandoni goes to the jungles to join other women guarding the forests. Locals say Kandoni has been protecting the forests since her childhood. She later formed ‘Van Raksha Samiti’ along with the other village women. As soon as she gets any leads about felling of trees, she rushes to protect them, they said. Kandoni believes society cannot afford to be dependent only on the government to protect the environment because a strong nexus sometimes works between the administration and the jungle mafia. “It is impossible to protect forests without active participation of the local people.
Reckless felling of trees ultimately affects the rainfall and our environment. I am happy that the people have started recognising my efforts. I wish the state government could help me,” said Kandoni. Mindless denudation is affecting the tribal community which is dependent on forests for its livelihood. “I started building awareness among the people about a decade back. I knew jungle mafias were very active in the region and, if not stopped in time, they would ruin the forest.
Since I grew up climbing the trees with traditional weapons in my possession, I decided to take on the forest mafia and formed ‘Van Raksha Samiti,’ naming it ‘Hariyali Sakaam’ which means green leaf in the local dialect,” said Kandoni. It was difficult to convince the village men, so she started creating awareness among women and succeeded in forming a group of 40 women, she added.
Her group of 40 women protects the forest round the clock. “I have divided the team into four groups. Each group is assigned a particular area and the hours for which they guard the forest. The team is equipped with traditional tribal weapons,” says Kandoni. “Now, the jungle mafia doesn’t dare enter the forests. They cannot hide from ‘Hariyali Sakaam.” In 2018, Kandoni got a job of a home guard in Jamshedpur Police but she continued to guard the forests along with her team.
She is currently posted as a guard at Uranium Corporation Limited mines in Musabani. She works in the morning shift and later joins her team guarding trees. Another woman, Sarla Tudu of ‘Hariyali Sakaam’, says, “No one dares to enter our jungles with an ulterior motive. “Even though we do not get any monetary benefits, we support Kandoni because our community is dependent on jungles.” Besides forest produce, they also get medicinal plants.
“She runs inside the jungle s like a tigress, therefore people call her ‘Jungle-ki- Sherni’. Her physique matches the name given to her,” says village head of Sarakghutu, Fagulal Kisku. “Tree felling has almost stopped in the jungle and the forest cover has significantly increased in the region. Besides forest mafia, stone mafia has also been deterred with the initiatives taken by Kandoni and her team,” says Kisku.
Forest officials appreciate Kandoni’s initiative. “If her team learns about illegal tree felling, they inform officials and ensure action is taken against the culprits,” said retired forest ranger PK Goswami, who was till recently posted in Musabani. “The forest is quite peaceful. No incident of tree felling or deliberate fire is reported.”