Question

Explain the roles of Jadhav ‘Molai’ Payeng and Daripalli ‘Vanajeevi’ Ramaiah in conserving forests.

Answer 1

Instructions:

• Introduce the concept of individual contribution to forest conservation
• Mention the case studies of Jadhav Payeng and Vanajeevi Ramaiah

Solution:
Public participation in planting and nurturing trees is very important to restoring forest cover. Following the slogan, ‘Each one, Plant one’, everyone can plant and nurture one plant to increase the greenery of the state.

A few individuals have gone above and beyond in the effort to plant trees. Two notable examples are Jadhav ‘Molai’ Payeng and Daripalli ‘Vanajeevi’ Ramaiah.

• Jadhav ‘Molai’ Payeng is a forest worker from Assam. He is well known for planting trees across 1360 acres of land near the Brahmaputra River. He planted and nurtured his trees for over 20 years. Today, a forest stands in the area and it has been named, the ‘Molai’ Forest. He is also known as the Forest Man of India. He received the Padma Shri award in 2015.
• Daripalli ‘Vanajeevi’ Ramaiah is a 70-year-old environmentalist from Telangana. He is known for carrying saplings and seeds on his bicycle and planting them on any barren land that he comes across on his travels. He also organized and promoted tree plantation drives as a social movement. He received the Padma Shri award in 2017.