Maanpur Khurd village, located close to the Ken River in Banda district (Uttar Pradesh), used to experience frequent floods—the most destructive of which occurred in 1992 and 2005. Eventually, a difficult decision was made to relocate the village about one kilometre away. Now, many years later, the community and the local panchayat of Kolawal Raipur (of which Maanpur Khurd is a part) have decided to afforest the abandoned land of the former habitation.
This effort will be carried forward with the cooperation of Vidya Dham Samiti, a voluntary organisation that has previously been involved in various development and welfare activities in this and neighbouring villages of Banda district.
While such initiatives are always welcome, they are particularly timely now, as this district and nearby areas have recently recorded some of the world's highest temperatures for several days amid changing climate conditions.
On June 28, a tree plantation event was organised in the village, which will be followed up by planting about 1,000 trees across approximately five to six 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 barren land but instead becomes a legacy of a beautiful forest—providing fresh air, conserving water, and bearing fruit. It is hoped that once this becomes a dense forest, it will offer at least some protection against future floods.
On the sidelines of the main tree-planting event, I spoke to some villagers about their concerns. They said that although they had relocated to a new site, proper cultivation remains a problem because much more land levelling is still needed. The government should provide significantly more assistance for this, they argued, as small, low-resource farmers here certainly cannot afford to undertake this work on their own.
Another issue they face is large-scale sand mining in the Ken River, which disrupts the river's flow, lowers the water table in the village, and creates difficulties for farmers. The villagers said that other communities, such as the Kewats, who used to cultivate vegetables on the riverbanks and exchange them for wheat produced in Maanpur and other villages, have suffered even greater harm. The dust and unhealthy conditions caused by extensive mining are also troublesome, and there is an adverse impact on fish and other river life. Several years ago, a movement against indiscriminate and excessive sand mining took place in the main village of Kolawalpur, joined by numerous neighbouring settlements as well.
The resettled villagers of Maanpur also want better access to education and other essential facilities. The dropout rate is higher for upper classes, as people find it unsafe to send children to the upper school located some distance away. Girls' education, in particular, is more disrupted due to this.
There are also problems related to the village being a border settlement, located very close to the state boundary with Madhya Pradesh.
The village panchayat here has a good record of encouraging development work, but its resources must be increased given the special needs of a resettled village. The government should also directly contribute to its welfare and development, recognising the unique challenges faced by a community that has been relocated, the people said.
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The writer is Honorary Convener of the Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine and Planet in Peril. His website is bharatdogra.in, and his YouTube channel is Bharat Dogra Save Earth Campaign
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