Moirangthem Loiya, a resident of Imphal would, as a child regularly visit the lush green Koubru peak in Senapati district. Once when he returned to the place after finishing his college, he was dismayed to see that the beautiful forest was devastated.

Loiya made up his mind to replant the forest and started hunting for land to plant trees. He was guided by a local to the Maru Langoi hill range near Punshilok where all the trees were burnt down for rice cultivation.

A Lonely Journey

Loiya, who worked as a medical representative left his job, packed food and clothes and built a hut for himself in Punshilok. For six years, he toiled and planted numerous trees including oak, magnolia, teak and jackfruit. Soon friends and volunteers pitched in to clean weeds and plant more trees. The plantation flourished due to a natural spring nearby.

Support From the Forest Department

The land on which Loiya was working came under the state forest reserve region. However, the forest department offered him full support as he was working towards the creation and conservation of the forest cover. In fact, they helped him by clearing all encroachments around the area to protect the forest.

Loiya roped in his friends and volunteers to create the Wildlife and Habitat Protection Society(WAHPS) which looks after the natural wealth of Punshilok. Thanks to their efforts, Punshilok forest encompassing 300 acres is now thriving with trees, shrubs and medicinal plants. There are around 25 species of bamboo plants. The forest has also become home to a variety of birds, snakes and wild animals.

WAHPS along with the forest department has been instrumental in containing many forest fires, preventing indiscriminate cutting of trees and poaching.

We need many more people like Loiya whose dream materialized after years of hard work into a forest that now attracts locals as well as international tourists who visit Punshilok to soak in its breathtaking beauty.

For a living, Loiya now works as a pharmacist in his brother’s medical shop and does organic farming, but he calls himself a painter who uses the face of hills as his canvas and trees and flowers as paint to make a living art.

Image Source: Patrika