Jadav Payeng The Forest Man Of India Who Planted An Entire Molai Forest
Jadav Payeng The Man Who Planted An Entire Molai Forest: Jadav Payeng known as the Forest Man of India was born on 31 October 1959 among the Mishing tribe in Jorhat Assam. Mr Payeng is an environmental activist from Village Majuli a large river island located in Assam.
The story of this extraordinary man is known around the world. In this modern age, when greedy people Cut our forests for their profit, we should be familiar with the remarkable story of a man who managed to protect a vast forest spread over an area of more than a thousand.
The story of this man will make us think, surprise, and teach us how impossible work can be done alone even if we do not have someone by our side.
- The distance From Kharagpur to Jorhat City Is Approx. 1370Km Via NH27
- Google Map: Molai Forest
How To Reach Molai Forest
The Molai Forest is located near Kokilamukh in Jorhat City. Being a prominent place of interest in the city, the forest is easily accessible from any corner of Jorhat by availing of the local transportation network like rental cars.
History Of Jadav Payeng:
The story unfolds in 1969 in the Majuli region of Jorhat, Assam, where the Brahmaputra River flows, home to the Mishing tribes. According to custom, the annual floods of the Brahmaputra devastated their lands.
However, amid the scorching heat of June and July, the mounds failed to provide shelter and instead became a graveyard, presenting a grim spectacle for the Mishing people.
The mounds were littered with innumerable snakes and lifeless bodies, a horrifying testimony to the devastation caused by nature’s wrath.
This scene raised a storm of thought in the chest of a Mishing teenager of fifteen years. His name was Jadav Payeng, He asked the villagers why they should die like this? What happened ??
The villagers said… “The snakes would not have died like this if they had found the shade of the Takuskhan tree”… !!
This answer made the boy stand in the face of the question,
“What if this happens to us because of the lack of trees?” From that sense of life, Jadav came up with a resolution that he would fill that barren sand dune in the shade of a green forest.
The next day, he walked five kilometers to a neighboring village and bought twenty-five bamboo saplings. Using a small boat he constructed himself, he travelled to the dunes and began an impressive tree-planting effort completely on his own!
Since that moment, Jadav Payeng has been tirelessly engaged in planting trees there, following the same routine day after day, ever since.
Molai Forest
Although it was once barren, now turned into a vast forest spread over 1300 acres. In its lush embrace, amidst the captivating greenery, more than a hundred species of birds, elephants, Royal Bengal Tigers, deer, rhinos, various snake species, and countless other animals seek out the sanctuary which mesmerizes the onlooker.
This forest, now named ‘Molai Forest’, stands as a testament to Jadav’s legacy, with his nickname ‘Molai’ immortalized in its name itself.
But this heroic achievement of the anti-propaganda man would have remained invisible to the people unless journalist Jitu Kalita came in contact with him in 2006.
In that year, a herd of one and a half hundred elephants took refuge in Jadav’s forest and ransacked paddy lands, and houses. The news reached the forest department. The forest department was surprised to see the existence of this huge forest in Majuli.
Awards:
From then till today there is no end to curiosity about him and this forest in the country and abroad. His work has been praised everywhere. Received many domestic and international honors and recognitions. On Earth Day 2012, Jawaharlal Nehru University invited him as an honorary speaker, and he was awarded “The Forest Man“. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 2015.
Many local and foreign documentaries have been made with his extraordinary work which has won many awards. A documentary about his life has been screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
His words and his Molai Forest have not only secured a prominent position in the textbooks of India but also earned recognition in numerous schools abroad.
He explained the need to plant trees to prevent global warming or the need for forests in the ecosystem. An Indian forest is being single-handedly planted after its creator was inspired by a slither of dead snakes.
READ MORE: Kurumbera Fort – 15th Century Historic Site
