Uttarakhand farmer's Herculean effort turns barren land into green forest

Gholtir, (Uttarakhand), June 19 (ANI): A farmer in Uttarakhand has converted five hectares of barren land into a lush green forest.

Ramesh Chand Gairola of Gholtir planted diverse species of trees like rosewood, sal, tun, walnut, peepal and many more plants on his land which had turned barren after being washed by floods in 1971.

Ramesh has made this forest on his own without any support from the government.

Earlier, Ramesh used to do farming on his land.

"I had five acres of land here but all my land got eroded due to floods in 1971. The land became barren so I decided to plant trees here. So I planted wild trees like Rosewood, Sal, Tun, Walnut, peepal and many more plants. But the government has not helped me anyhow," said Ramesh Chand Gairola, caretaker of the forest.

Not only wild trees, there are many fruit trees in the forest like mango, pomegranate, and gooseberry.

The locals are extending full support to Ramesh Chand Gairola and appreciate his efforts.

"With this jungle people have benefited in terms of environment. The locals should help Ramesh Chand so that the forest grows well. At the age of 72 he is working to help the society. The government should award him for his efforts," said Devi Prasad Thapliyal, a villager.

Ramesh is also multiplying and distributing the seeds and saplings of forest trees and asking others to convert wastelands into thick forests. He has also adopted driving as his profession. (ANI)