Bhubaneswar: Eco Man Ramkrishna Dash suggested the need for a well-planned programme to implement holistic development of rural areas and the need to take up “back to village’ challenge’ while speaking at a seminar on future prospects and implementation of Waldenwoods Eco village.
The eco village by Waldenwoods Foundation, a Delhi-based registered charitable trust, has been set up in Kantamalia village in Dhenkanal district of Odisha.
Founded in 2004 with the motto “Rural Empowerment with sustainable Development”, the trust aims to reverse the trend of migration from the urban to the rural areas by creating some Smart Eco Villages (Tourism Models).
Waldenwoods Eco Village has the modern amenities like electricity, safe water supply, telecommunication, transport, organic food, amusement, health services, healthy lifestyle and pollution-free environment which a tourist looks to beat the stress.
The seminar was held under the presidentship of chief advisor, Eco village, Dr Krushna Chandra Aich, Founder Chairman of Waldenwoods Foundation, Ramkrishna Dash.
Dash said despite loss due to the pandemic, eco village has attracted many tourists from inside and outside the state in a short span of time. “We are hopeful that in coming days, large number of people will get attracted to this site,” he said.
In the current scenario, to tide over the impact of strong climate change and disastrous environment, humans need to change their lifestyle. There is need to further spread awareness necessary about safety of mother Earth. There is also need of to set up eco retreat centres by young entrepreneurs at different places, he emphasised.
Dash was awarded India Icon Award 2019 at Taj Kempegowda Bengaluru. Dash is the chartered president of only cause based Club of Rotary- 3262 whose main thrust area is Environment and Ecology called Rotary Club Bhubaneswar Eco. He is also the general secretary Eco of world body organisation called World Odisha Society.
Dr Sarat Chandra Acharya, former chairman of a Navratna company, former joint director of Tourism Department Utpal Pati, Dr Sudershan Panda, Dr Niranjan Panda, Bikas Das, E K Patra, Chartered Accountant Anil Agrawal, Sanghamitra Jena, Puspanjali Senapati, Siresh Verma, Niranjan Swain, Bishal Subudhi, Mohit Subudhi, Ajit Sarangi, KV Rao, Sibadutta Subudhi, Pankaj Gupta, Sudhansu Mohanty, Navneet Shah and several other environmentalists gave valuable suggestions.
