This Forest Range Officer Has Grown More Than 1.5 Lakh Trees in Karnataka
If only this world knew how to live life like this handsome forest range officer, it would indeed be a great place to live in. Meet Santosh A Ajur, the forest officer of Muddebihal Social Range who is super passionate about fulfilling his responsibilities. This man grew more than 1.5 lakh trees in the Vijayapura district in Karnataka which has a semi-arid climate and receives rainfall for only 10-20 days in a year.
Decades ago, this area was marked by brown patches of land with mostly dry spells and minimum rains. The tough climatic conditions hardly allowed any plants to grow into tress, and thus, the trees never sustained in the area,
Enter Green Mission — an initiative by Karnataka Forest Department which brought significant changes in their forestry programs. Today, there are more 1.5 lakh of trees flourishing in the area, all thanks to the forest department, and particularly Santosh A Ajur.
But how does this man managed to grow plantation amongst the drought-hit area like Vijayapura?
After studying the pattern of rainfall and plant varieties, Ajur, along with his team, pursued a non-conventional method to grow plantation in a small patch of land. He ditched the idea of sowing seeds in the ground. Instead, his team sowed saplings in the nursery and watered them to grow about 8-9 feet.
As soon as the saplings reached a certain height, they were planted on the road. Ajur also applied a technique called ‘Hardening off’ on plants under which the plants were gradually introduced to sunlight; dry air and cold nights in order to make them naturally acclimated to the weather of the area.
The plants are kept in the direct sunlight during day, and are moved inside during the night in order to help them become prone to the semi-arid region of Vijayapura.
To water the plants, Ajur’s team uses tankers and open wells near Krishna backwaters. The team has successfully planted more than 25,000 saplings in the area.
This technique was also applied in Indi and Muddebihal taluks from 2012-16 to plant more than one lakh seeds on the roads and in institutions and ashrams. It proved to be successful with 75 per cent of seeds growing into plants.
As per Ajur, watering is done for six days every week in the first year, followed by two days in a week in the second year. By the third year, no watering is required and plants learn to survive on their own.
Ajur joined the forest team in 2010, and started with this technique in 2012. After the plantation of short saplings failed, his team started planting tall saplings. With time, 12,000 seedlings were planted on the roadside across 60 km. Later, more than 90 per cent seedlings survived in Muddebihal region under the guidance of Ajur.
More than 10,000 seedlings were also planted in Ranade Ashram, Sai School, and in Government Sugar Factory on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border.
Ajur indeed is certainly a true defender of the Earth. He is only 32, but he dreams of nurturing every plant and sapling that comes across his way.
