Page 15 - Young Intach Jan-March 2022.indd
P. 15

VOL. 19 No. 1

      SACRED GROVES... TREASURE TROVES...

      Sacred groves are tracts of virgin forest with rich diversity, which have been protected by the local people for
      centuries. People believe that the deities reside in them and protect them. Sacred trees have immense socio-religious
      signifi cance.
      E. Shyam, Class 9, Olivet School, Krishna Nagar, Vishakapatnam; M. Poojith Kumar, Class 9, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans, Hyderabad
      Significance                          ECOLOGICAL VALUE


                                            Sacred groves conserve biodiversity        COMMUNITY VALUE
     LEGENDS AND LORES                      and maintain ecological balance of the     Sacred groves are protected
                                            region. Several plants and animals that
     Every sacred grove carries                                                        by communities as they
                                            are threatened in the forest are conserved
     its own legends, lore, myths                                                      have religious, cultural,
                                            well in many sacred groves.
     which form the integral part of                                                   and economic signifi cance.
     the sacred grove.                                                                 Many trees have medicinal
                                                                                       value.
     Saloni Kumari, Class 8A,
     Scholars Home Sr. Sec. School,
     Dehradun                                                                    Illustration by Adviti Dhananjay Deshmukh,
                                                                                 Class 8, MGM's Sanskar Vidyalaya, Aurangabad
                                                                                     GOVERNMENT ROLE
       WORSHIP AND                                                                  The   introduction   of  the

       PRACTISES                                                                    Protected   Area    Category
                                                                                   Community Resources under
       Trees symbolize achievements of life and                                the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment
       resilience. There is a term to describe their worship:   Act, 2002 has introduced legislation for providing
       dendrolatry.  Trees are a big part of our living       government protection to community held lands,
       heritage and are considered sacred.                    which includes sacred groves.
       Thea Girotra, Class 8, Ananta Aggarwal, Class 8B, Mira Model   Shruti, Class 6A, Saraswati Public School, Jagadhri
       School, Janakpuri, Delhi


       SACRED spread



       DEV VAN (HIMACHAL PRADESH)

       Sacred groves in Himachal Pradesh are called Dev Van                        Illustration by Lipika Singh, Class 8D, Gyan
       and are dedicated to a particular deity. They play a                             Bharati School, Saket, Delhi
       major role in environment protection and are integral                    MANGAR BANI (HARYANA)
       part of socio-religious and environmental traditions.    Illustration by  Aditya   Mangar Bani is a sacred grove
       Ayansh Sharma, Class 2, Army Public School, Damana  Bhatt, Class 10, Raksha   that lies between Faridabad and
                                                         Anusandhan Vidyalaya,
                                                             Dehradun           Gurgaon. Sacred groves in Haryana
                                                                                are dedicated to deities such as
       DEO BHUMI (UTTARAKHAND)                                                  Jairamdas, Mani Goga Peer, etc. Pipal,
                                                                                banyan, and fl ame of the forest are
       These are locally known as Deo Bhumi and Bugyal                          some of the common trees found in
       (sacred alpine meadows).  Tungnath sacred
                                                                                these groves.
       grove, a part of Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary, is
       home to many rare,  medicinal plants.                                    Shubhi, Class 7C, Palak, Class 9C, Saraswati
                                                                                Public School, Jagadhri; Chahit, Class 9,
       Jasmeet Singh, Class 7A, Scholars Home Sr. Sec. School,                  Chakshu, Class 9F, Swami Vivekananda Public
       Dehradun; Ruval Sajwan, Class 10, Raksha Anusandhan   Illustration by Krishaa G A,   School, Jagadhri
       Vidyalaya, Dehradun                                Class 9B, Amrita Vidyalayam,
                                                          Nallampalayam, Coimbatore


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