Essay on Van Mahotsav (Forest Festival)
Even in ancient times, people were very conscious of the environment, such as the Guptas, Mauryans and Mughal dynasties. But as our country continues to progress, it is continuously deforestation to fulfill its needs. It was evaporated only in 1947 that if the forests were not saved, the life of human civilization could be in crisis.
Late in 1947 Jawaharlal Nehru, Late The Van Mahotsav is celebrated in the first week of July with the joint efforts of Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad. This Van Mahotsav is celebrated because of which the people have a consciousness to plant trees and they should plant more and more trees.
During this festival, lakhs of trees are planted by the government as well and there are many such organizations that plant saplings at different places. The main objective of Van Mahotsav is that people should understand the importance of trees in due course of time and plant maximum number of trees.
But in 1947 Van Mahotsav was organized only informally due to which it has not taken a big form but in 1950, the then Agriculture Minister Kanhaiya Lal Maniklal Munshi officially implemented the festival. This decision proved to be a milestone because if this decision was not taken, perhaps 10% of the forests would have been found in India instead of 20%.
What is Van Mahotsav -
Our environment was adversely affected due to the continuous indiscriminate deforestation in India. And half of the trees that were being harvested were not being planted. Due to which the forest festival was organized by the government in the month of July to save forests, it was named as Van Mahotsav.
So that maximum number of people plant trees and alert each other about how important it is for our life to plant trees.
The main objective of the Van Mahotsav is to plant trees everywhere and save the shrinking area of the forests. Millions of trees are planted in our entire country during Van Mahotsav week, but unfortunately only a few percent of these trees survive because they are not taken care of due to which these animals are either emptied by animals or destroyed due to lack of water. Become.
Why was the need of Van Mahotsav -
Due to the cutting of trees, the environment of the earth is changing along with contamination, as a result of which you must have seen that the Himalayas are draining rapidly. The temperature of the earth has started to rise again. It rains somewhere and there is flooding and somewhere. Thunderstorms are coming which is a clear warning of nature that if we are still not alert then the day is not far when the Earth will be destroyed.
At present, the time of summer has increased and the time of winter has remained very small. In summer, mercury in Rajasthan reaches 50 degrees. This means that if a person stands up even half an hour in such strong sunlight, then he may have a disease like cholera or he may even die.
Deforestation has also happened as fast as industrialization has happened in India, but we did not re-plant trees as fast as we had deforested. According to the Forest Policy 1988, forest should be on 33% of the total area of the earth, only then the balance of nature will be able to be maintained. But the year 2001 report showed shocking results according to which only 20% percent of the forest in India is left.
According to the 2017 Forest Department report, forests have increased by 1% in 2017 as compared to previous years. But this growth rate is not enough because the population is constantly increasing and at the same time the pollution is also increasing very fast. Our forests are still very low to absorb this pollution.
Some states in our India have very high forests like Lakshdeep, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, about 80 percent is covered by forests. But there are some states in our country that are gradually becoming deserts, such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra etc.
There is a dire need to increase the forest area in these states, otherwise, a severe famine situation can be seen here in the coming days.
Reasons for deforestation -
- The increasing the population of our country is the main reason for deforestation because as the population is increasing, that population has also increased the need for food and food, hence all this is being done by deforestation. .
- Nowadays you must have noticed that most of the gates and windows and other household items in your houses are made of wood and with the increase of population there has been an increase in the demand for wood, deforestation is being done to meet this growth.
- We get many types of herbs from forests, forests are being destroyed by humans to acquire these herbs.
- In India, many such illegal industries in which wood is used in large quantities, trees are harvested to fulfill that.
- Another reason for deforestation is that many illegal timber trades are also going on these days. They harvest trees from forests without government approval and sell them to people for a higher price.
- Man harvests trees inexplicably to fulfill his desire for the object of enjoyment.
Benefits of forests -
- Due to forests, there is equality in the environment of our earth.
- Soil does not cause soil erosion.
- We get oxygen from tree plants which is very important for every living being.
- Tree plants absorb toxic gases like carbon dioxide.
- We get wood like sandalwood from the forests.
- From forests we get Ayurvedic herbs to ward off diseases.
- Rain is good due to tree plants, due to which there is greenery everywhere.
- Forests reduce emergency disaster, drought conditions, thunderstorms, storms and floods.
- The forest is home to other living creatures
Side effects of deforestation
Due to deforestation, it has not only affected the Manyavar caste, it has affected the entire earth. Due to which the situation of global warming has arisen today. Let us know what side effects are caused by deforestation.
Increase in Earth's temperature
As the forest area is becoming limited, the temperature of the earth is also increasing, you must have seen that the winter season only comes for some time and most of the time there is summer. Earth's temperature has increased by 0.3 to 0.6 degrees Celsius in the last 10 years. And every year it is increasing.
Increase in pollution -
Trees and plants absorb toxic gases from industries and other materials. If they are harvested, then these poisonous gases will remain in the atmosphere as they are, due to which many terrible diseases will be born and if deforestation continues, then it will be difficult for humans to breathe because the oxygen produced by trees itself. And carbon dioxide is absorbed.
Famine -
A situation of famine is also arising due to deforestation. Because it rains more than trees. If there are no trees on the earth, then there will be no rain. Due to which a situation of famine will arise. There are many states of India in which forest areas are found less, such as Gujarat and Rajasthan, there is often a famine situation here. Due to the low forest area in these states, water scarcity is also found.
Flooding -
Due to indiscriminate cutting of trees, there is too much rainfall in many places and due to less forest area, the flow of water is not reduced and the flood situation arises.
Extinction of wildlife animals -
Due to the increasing population, the forest areas have become limited due to which the wildlife living in the forests are getting very little space to live as well as many trees have been harvested which many wildlife have to live for. Were necessary. Due to deforestation many species of animals have become extinct and if such deforestation continues, all the species of wildlife will soon be extinct.
Global Warming -
Changes in the Earth's climate are subject to global warming. Presently you must have read in newspaper magazines that during the summer there is snowfall, the desert area is flooding, the Himalayas are melting and at the same time the temperature of the earth is also increasing, all these reasons are covered under global warming.
Measures to save forest area
- To save the forest area, we have to spread maximum awareness among people.
- The population growth rate has to be reduced.
- We have to promote programs like Van Mahotsav so that maximum amount of trees can be planted.
- The task of saving forests is not only that of the government, it is also our job because the forest area cannot grow till we plant trees ourselves.
- We have to enact strict laws for illegal deforestation people.
- All people have to show the benefits of tree plants so that they can plant more and more trees.
- We have to reduce the use of wood products.