JAMUGURIHAT, Feb 12 � �Forest man� Jadav Payeng, who has risen to international fame and got the Padma Shri Award this year for his �Molai Kathoni,� a sprawling forest of 500 hectares on the sandbars along the Brahmaputra river, was felicitated at a function here recently by more than 15 organisations and institutions of the area.
The function, anchored by Basav Bhuyan, was held at Jamuguri Academy, Borbhogia and was organised by three nature-loving youths � Animesh Ozah, Rahul Sankar Jain and Ramesh Moheswari. In the felicitation function, Payeng also had an interactive session with the students and general public.
The 55-year-old Payeng, nicknamed Molai, said even birds and animals grow trees and never destroy them, but only human beings are destroying the forests ruthlessly for their own benefit. To maintain the ecological balance and make the earth a suitable place for living, one must plant trees, he added.
Payeng said the only way to save the Earth from global warming and climate change is by inculcating in young minds the need to grow trees and involve communities to save nature and protect wildlife. �Human beings need to be reformed first and the process should start from the lower primary school level,� he said, adding, �if students plant at least two saplings each from this stage, in the next ten years there will be enough oxygen for the world to breathe in.�
In the function, two short documentaries made on the life of Jadav Payeng were also screened. He also planted two saplings in the school campus.
