As mercury soars up and Odisha`s once beautiful capital Bhubaneswar earns the dubious distinction of being one of the hottest cities in the state, yet heads of its harbingers never turn to that side to listen to what nature speaks.

It is only April and much to come soon. Come May and June the solstice would be far more unsympathetic and would let all, man and animals singe under a cruel phase of humidity that is normally harsher than heat.

It was a day out by this author the other day, traveling on bike and taking a walk in-between. The place was to the far end of the West of the capital and near within Kalinga Nagar cum Kalinga Vihar, supposedly the largest residential colony in the state.

In a way a concrete monster with its gapping mouth threatens to finish the remnant of a very, very comforting green patch nearby,once a well-groomed little forest patches now panting for breath. 

It is just nestling with the outer precincts of a small village called Naragada, once known as one of the  oasis amid a festering sore of cement culture.

The little green expanses were full with wonders where peacocks used to dance looking up at the azure sky , wild sparrows intersperse the quietness with the sweet chirpings, mynas frolic around in search of food amid the grassy patches and as Sun gets down in the West and the evenings mature into nights the barking of jackals could be heard.

Once in a while one had a pleasant tryst with Monitor Lizards crawling out of their proverbial hibernations sniffing for crumbs of food that they relish.

The vast expanse stretching from Kalinga Vihar up to a location called Ghatkia was once intermingled by lovely yet small patches of forest now fast retreats and grotesque faces of houses or plotting rewrite a pensive history.

It can be said that a chip of a soothing green amid the virgin forest is slowly turning to be a hostile habitat for the above species.           

An unrelenting town planning has seen to it that several small lush green patches and years old trees are being felled for the artery roads tearing through and several houses are being built, including some new schools and recreation huts.

“This is what they call town planning 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on thus squeezing or obliterating the only refuge of a good population of wild species who would soon remain in a past, barely reminiscing a poignant past” said Harekrushna Satpathy, a ‘save green’ activist

“ Similar such mindless activities are literally honey-combing the capital city thus making way for a toxic tomorrow as mercury hovers over 40 degree Celsius from now in the beginning of April” noted Biswajit Mohanty, environmental activist.     

Naragada or Paikraipur etc all those villages stood as living sentinels of a symbiosis and coexistence between wild and humanity protected by an untamable zeal of villagers.

A walk through the colonies reveal jitters as well as smoothening feels. The zones like K-6 and K-4 apart the rest exhibit several elements of sores.

K-6 A slowly wears a kind of newness but not entirely free of the endemic greed of some who doggedly pursue constructions as the only focus while the green surroundings are given a short shrift.

Efforts by an association called Kalinga Vihar Vikas Parishad K-6(A) cannot be lost sight of but what appears odd that is giving it a slip by some residents is sad.  

Ignoring the hanging posters with messages against dumping of garbage, still people tip-toe with waste and add to the land-fills either in quiet afternoons or nights.       

It is for last several years there is a dark-underbelly put on display on a main road abreast the Bus Stop which the BMC authorities willingly choose to ignore a terribly undulated patch measuring not more than 70 mtrs and it remains a nightmare rain or shine. May be a decade old sorrow. 

I was once told by the Mayor that BMC can do little as it falls within the duty of the Roads & Buildings(R&B). Doesn`t that sound like passing the buck?

With the relentless march of "Town Planning 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6", their last refuge is shrinking. The trees they once found shelter in are being uprooted, and the open lands where they searched for food are turning into roads and buildings. "Where will they go?"  How will they survive when the only world they have ever known is disappearing before their eyes? 

Nostalgia 

As their habitat vanishes, the dangers multiply. Poaching, starvation, and displacement" loom over them like dark clouds. A jackal searching for food may now be seen as a threat. In fact they are not seen. A peacock, once dancing freely, may now struggle to find a safe place to roost. The balance of nature is being disturbed—not just for them, but for every one of us. 

What seems pathetically lacking is a holistic approach towards progress and conservation, a symbiosis that is the need of the hour. 

Progress but what cost! Declare such small patches as protected green zones, train people to coexist with nature and species by planting more buffer zones. One or a few examples can impact on people to volunteer and protect.

Progress is necessary, but at what cost? Can we not plan development with nature in mind? Can we not protect these last oasis of life instead of erasing it? 

*A small effort can make a huge difference:*

- Declare these forest patches as protected green zones.

- Plant buffer trees around the area to extend their habitat.

- Educate the community on coexisting with the wild.

This is not just about saving a few animals—it is about preserving the soul of Bhubaneswar, a city once known for its natural beauty and heritage. If we turn a blind eye now, future generations will never know the sight of a "graceful peacock in the wild, chirping or birds or morning tweets of sparrows or the call of a jackal at night". 

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