A Village Uprooted by Floods Starts A Forest to Prevent Floods

Maanpur Khurd village located close to the Ken river in Banda districtDistrict in Uttar PradeshA district located in the Bundelkhand region of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, known for its agricultural landscape and proximity to rivers like the Ken. (Uttar Pradesh) used to experience frequent floods, the more destructive of these coming in 1992 and 2005. Finally, a difficult decision was taken to shift the village about 1 km away. Now, many years later, a decision has been taken by the community and the local panchayat of Kolawal Raipur (of which Maanpur Khurd is a part) to afforest the abandoned land of the previous habitation. of Kolawal Raipur ( of which Maanpur Khurd is a part) to afforestTo Create a ForestThe process of establishing a forest on land that has not been forested for a long time, or not at all, typically through planting trees or sowing seeds. the abandoned land of the previous habitation. This work is to be taken forward with the cooperation of a voluntary organization Vidya Dham Samiti, which has been involved in several development and welfare activities in this and neighboring villages of Banda district in the past.

While such initiatives are always welcome, they are particularly welcome now, at a time when, due to climate change, some of the highest temperatures globally have been recorded for several days in this district and nearby areas recently.

Recently, on June 28, a tree plantation event was organized in this village, which is to be followed up with further planting of about 1000 trees spread over 5 to 6 acres. Arrangements for the protection of the planted trees are being made. This is being called a virasat van or heritage forest, so that the site abandoned by the people of Maanpur does not remain dusty land but instead becomes a heritage of a beautiful forest, including trees that provide fresh air, conserve water, and yield fruits. It is hoped that once this becomes a dense forest, it will in the future provide at least some protection from floods.

On the sidelines of the main tree-planting event, I spoke to some villagers regarding their problems. They said that although they shifted to a new place, proper cultivation still remains a problem as much more land-levelling work remains to be done. The government should provide much more help for this, they said, as the small, low-resource farmers here certainly cannot afford to take this up on their own.

Another problem they face is from the large-scale sand mining in the Ken River, as the river’s flow is disrupted by this, and the water table in the village goes down, creating problems for farmers. People here said that even more harm has been suffered by other communities, like the \Kewats\, who were cultivating vegetables on the river bank and later exchanging their produce with wheat from Maanpur and other villages. who were cultivating vegetables on river bank and later exchanging their vegetable with wheat produced in Maanpur and other villages. The dust and unhealthy conditions created by large-scale mining are also troublesome. In addition, there is an adverse impact on fish and other river life. Some years back, there was a movement against indiscriminate and excessive sand mining in the river in the main village of Kolawalpur, which was joined by several neighboring settlements.

The resettled villagers of Maanpur also want better access to education and other essential facilities. The drop-out rate is higher for older children/higher grades as people find it unsafe to send children to the upper school located at some distance. In particular, the education of girls is disrupted more due to this.

There are also problems relating to this being a border village, located very close to the Madhya Pradesh state border.

The village \panchayat\ here has a good record of encouraging development work, but its resources must be increased, keeping in view the special needs of a resettled village. The government must also directly contribute to its welfare and development needs, recognizing the unique challenges of a village that has been resettled, people here said.