Meet Peepal Baba, 80, and his green legacy around Sonepur village

Bhubaneswar: At 4 am every day, when most people are still asleep, 80-year-old Bira Meher sets out from his home in Sahala village under Dunguripali block of Sonepur district to tend to the peepal and banyan trees he has planted over the past six decades.Known locally as ‘Peepal Baba’, Meher has planted trees wherever he has travelled, often carrying saplings and seeds. Over the years, he has nurtured them with the patience and dedication of someone raising a family.Meher says he hasn’t kept a count of the trees he planted over the years. “But all the peepal and banyan trees you see within a radius of nearly 10 km from my village have been planted by me at some point of time in my life. What matters is that many of the saplings have survived and grown,” he said.He developed an interest in growing trees after watching his father grow different varieties of plants on their ancestral farmland. But it was the large-scale felling of trees for road-widening projects that turned this childhood influence into a lifelong mission. His own village, too, lost many trees in the name of development, leaving him deeply disturbed.He chose peepal and banyan because they grow into large trees and require relatively little care. For him, however, planting a sapling is only half the job. Ensuring that it survives is a bigger job.That belief explains his daily routine. He has kept sticks and plastic containers at several spots so he can attend to the saplings whenever necessary.He draws water from nearby tubewells and canals, collects seeds and saplings throughout the year, and looks for suitable places to plant them, particularly during the monsoon.His commitment to the trees has remained undiminished even as he has grown older. His two sons are engaged in business, and he helps them with their work. But tending to the trees has become his principal pursuit. Meher also cleans the area near the trees he has planted.He, however, gets distressed at the sight of a tree being felled or when goats are allowed to roam freely and feed on the young plants he has painstakingly raised.“I hope people realise that planting a tree, particularly easily found native species, has become the need of the hour considering the rising heat and reducing green cover,” he said, also requesting villagers to assist him in protecting the saplings that he plants, and many oblige.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Bhubaneswar | Silver Rate in Bhubaneswar | Bank Holidays in Bhubaneswar | Public Holidays in Bhubaneswar | Petrol Price in Bhubaneswar | Diesel Price in Bhubaneswar | CNG Price in Bhubaneswar | LPG Price in BhubaneswarStay updated with the latest Bhubaneswar news. Download the TOI App.