Bolunda Village

Bolunda village is located in Goregaon Taluka in Bhandara district of Maharashtra. The village has traditionally protected a sacred grove, covering an area of 7 acres. This grove is located on the boundary of Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary. The natural canopy is dense, with 80 per cent of the original vegetation in the sacred grove (SG) still intact with tall woody tree species. The flying squirrel and rhesus macaque are some of the commonly found mammals here. The village has a total population of 1,200 composed of Dhivar community, whose main occupation is fishing (35 per cent), Koshti’s engaged in farm activities and agricultural labour (35 per cent) scheduled castes mainly casual labours (25 per cent) and others (5 per cent). A few villagers depend on the grove for extracting forest resources for basic needs. Most villagers have a strong faith in the deity of the grove. Although there are no specific taboos associated with this deity, the villagers have been protecting these forests for generations. It is believed that those who damage/exploit the grove face natural calamities like rolling of rocks from the hill slopes and attacks by honeybees. Hunting is not carried out in the sacred grove except when substantial crop damage is caused by a particular animal. Local people are in a process of registering a trust for the maintenance and management of the grove.