'Forest man of India' wants tree plantation to be taught at schools in world

Jadav Payeng and a team of 50 people are working on a project to plant trees on 2,000 hectares at the Majuli island in Assam

Padma Shri Jadav “Molai” Payeng is a Mishing tribe environmental activist and forestry worker from Jorhat, Assam. File | Photo Credit: M. Moorthy

Environmental activist Jadav Payeng, popularly known as the "forest man of India", has said that children across the globe should be taught to plant trees by schools and to love mother earth.

The Padmashri awardee, who hails from Assam, rued that young minds are not taught to love and respect mother earth at schools.

"The school curriculum across the world should teach the children to plant trees. Children should get practical knowledge of plantation as it will prove helpful to turn the earth green. While the new National Education Policy of India has included this aspect, it will take some time to trickle down before it is practised," he told PTI on the sidelines of the C-20 meeting in Nagpur.

Mr. Payeng said he and a team of 50 people are working on a project to plant trees on 2,000 hectares at the Majuli island in Assam, which will provide food to elephants, rhinoceros and deer in the forest.

Majuli is a river island in the Brahmaputra river in Assam.

Mr. Payeng had planted and tended trees on a sandbar of the river Brahmaputra over decades turning it into a forest reserve. The forest, called Molai forest after him, is located near Kokilamukh of Jorhat.