New Delhi. Amid the serious issue of desertification faced by residents of the Kerala- Karnataka border of Wayanad district, especially in villages on the northeastern tip of the Deccan Plateau due to extensive destruction of bamboo groves, the name of Bhaskaran is gaining a lot of appraisal.
Bhaskaran is a progressive farmer. Looking at this serious threat of his region, he has developed a sustainable mode of mitigation with the support of the Soil Conservation department. Planting selected species of bamboo on 3.5 acres of land near Pulpally, Bhaskaran has set the Bambusetum model.
Taking financial support of the Soil Conservation department, he planted as many as 1400 saplings of bamboo on the mashy land five years ago. The maintenance and management cost was negligible, he took care of making channels and water outlets to drain out excess water in every garden, without which the seedlings would be damaged.
The model, according to P.U. Das, a former district soil conservation officer, was an accurate representation of how to preserve soil, water, and biodiversity. He stated that the soil’s organic carbon content had doubled, its moisture level was high, and it could hold more water now.
This plantation resulted in improving biodiversity, especially bird diversity in Bambusetum. A stream, which dried up in November turned to be perennial after the bamboo samplings were planted. Bhaskaran has started selling bamboo pods too, weighing 8 Kg to 10 Kg at ₹6 per Kg.
