Bihar villagers plant trees when a girl is born; helps pay for her wedding later in life
Bihar villagers plant trees when a girl is born; helps pay for her wedding later in life
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| Mango people: Villagers in Dharhara, Bihar, plant at least 10 trees to celebrate a girl's birth. Representation Pic |
According to a BBC report, in Dharhara village, Bhagalpur district, families plant a minimum of 10 trees whenever a girl child is born.
And this practice is paying off. Nikah Kumari, 19, is all set to get married in early June.
However, Singh is not worried about the high expenses for the wedding.
"Today, that day has come for which we had planted the trees. We've sold off the fruits of the trees for three years in advance and got the money to pay for my daughter's wedding," Singh said. "The trees are our fixed deposits," he added.
Novel plan
The mango trees have freed Nikah's parents of undue worries.
And their story is not unique in Dharhara village.
The village has more than 100,000 fully grown trees, mostly of mango and lychee.u00a0
u00a0"Now, we've stopped doing traditional farming of wheat and paddy. We plant as many trees as we can since they are more profitable and dependable," said villager Shyam Sunder Singh.
The villagers have been planting trees for generations.
Great value
"One medium-size mango orchard is valued at around Rs 2 lakh every season. These trees have great commercial value and are a big support for us at the time of our daughter's marriage," he added.
"This is our way of meeting the challenges of dowry and female foeticide. There has not been a single incident yet of female foeticide or dowry death in our village," he says.
The village's oldest resident, Shatrughan Prasad Singh, 86, has planted around 500 mango and lychee trees in his 25 acres of land.
His grand-daughters, Nishi and Ruchi, are confident the trees mean their family will have no problem paying for their weddings.
"The world should emulate us and plant more trees," said Prabhu Dayal Singh.
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