A video has gone viral on social media, leaving everyone amazed. The video shows Andhra Pradesh Forest Department officials cutting the trunk of a tree and water gushing out of it.
The forest officials cut the bark of an Indian laurel tree (Terminalia tomentosa) in Papikonda National Park to find that the tree stores water in the summer. During parched summers, the Indian laurel tree stores water that has a strong smell and tastes sour.
This knowledge was shared with the forest department by the Konda Reddi tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group inhabiting the Papikonda hill range in the Godavari region.
Indian Laurel, popularly known as the Indian Silver Oak, the Chinese banyan or Malayan banyan, belongs to the fig family Moraceae and is mostly found in Southeast Asia and Chinese regions. It improves soil fertility, provides shade for crops and is a valuable fodder for the Konda Reddi tribe.
The Konda Reddi tribe, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), resides in the Eastern Ghats, a mountain range parallel to India’s east coast. They deeply understand their environment, having lived in harmony with the forests for generations.
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