Expressing concern over sorry state of 400-year-old banyan tree and Bastarin Mata under the tree at Bamansara village of Komakhan area in Bagbahara (Mahasamund), Green Care Society submitted a memorandum to Additional Collector Jogendra Nayak urging for immediate attention. In the memorandum, Green Care Society president Bishwanath Panigrahi said that the tree has religious significance for the people in the nearby areas. The aged tree is continuously eroding due to lack of proper care.

 

Due to which the ‘vatvriksh’ (banyan tree), once spread over an acre area, was reduced to half an acre some time ago, and now shrinking even more. This glorious heritage will lose its existence if proper protection is not done soon. Panigrahi said that in the year 2012, the Government of India planned to save and preserve such trees by using CAMPA Fund. Green Care Society has been requesting since the then CAMPA Official B K Sinha, Panigrahi said. Panigrahi said that if the conservation and protection of this tree is done in a proper way, this banyan tree will not only become will become the pride of the entire state since this site is adjacent to National Highway 353, Chhattisgarh which is connecting to Odisha.

 

This banyan tree is an excellent example of biodiversity. Elders say that when this banyan was very large in size, migratory birds used to come to this place in large numbers. Many species of insects, snakes are also seen.