“The concern of the monks triggered a movement for conserving the adjoining Chala Reserve Forest, the traditional source of most of the colors in our lives,” the secretary of the Chala Village Sanctuary Conservation Society, Pyoseng Chowlu, was quoted as saying by The Hindu. “And in September 2018, the people of 10 villages in the vicinity converged to do something about it.”Consequently, the Chala Village Sanctuary was designated. To assist the understaffed Forest Department in warding off loggers and poachers, a forest protection group of 22 individuals from the villages was formed. A society was formed and the reserve forest was declared the Chala Village Sanctuary. “We are documenting the plants and herbs of our village sanctuary,” said society secretary Chowlu.

Source: The Hindu January 14, 2022 07:53 UTC