CHATRA: Vast swathes of barren land at Jejla adjoining Belhar village in Barwadih panchayat of Pathalgaddha block was once considered "haunted" but they are now fast turning into a vegetable bowl of the district, thanks to the efforts of the Dangi brothers.
A decade ago, the villagers were scared to visit the area even in broad daylight and left their fields unattended making them barren. They also urged Rituraj Dangi and Vinay Dangi of Belhar to avoid the place.
Rituraj and Vinay, however, did not let superstition get the better of them and put in efforts day in and day out to make their two-acre land to make it fertile.
Talking to TOI, the elder Dangi brother, Vinay, said, “Though Jejla villagers have farmlands, nobody dared to venture there for years. The result is that the land became barren though some grass and bush covered it."
Vinay said he and his brother Rituraj decided to cultivate the land when they faced financial crunch with no work. "Our initial efforts were opposed saying the land was haunted. The decision to go against the villagers and cultivate our land was a tough one but we had no other option to run our family," he said.
The brothers first started work in their field in 2007 when they clean it for a month. They gradually make it cultivable and started growing vegetables.
"By 2015, we are financially stable after growing cauliflower, radish, maize, brinjal, cabbage, coriander, peas and other vegetables. They even planted guava, mangoes, aloe vera, gooseberry and started supplying them to the local markets," Vinay added.
Rituraj said they use water of the rain-fed Jejla river to grow the vegetables, but faced problems in summer as the river dried but somehow managed to produce the vegetables.
After seeing the achievement of the brothers, around two dozens of other villagers started cultivation in 2019.
Rituraj added, "Earlier, the villagers used to take the advice of a 'tantrik' to stay safe from the Jejla ghost. But Vinay and I have proved that it was only a superstition.”