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Context:

• Dubbed as Asia’s largest teak and sal forest, the Barbara forest in Odisha is the only forest in India guarded by the jawans of Central Reserve Police Force (for protecting forest resources).
• The government is readying the infrastructure to bring the natural forest on eco-tourism map.
• This forest touches three districts Khordha, Nayagarh and Ganjam of Odisha.
• The timber mafia worked in tandem with the locals, prompting former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik to seek deployment of CRPF in 1994-95 to check tree felling and protect the forest.
• The CRPF wanted to withdraw from Barbara forest due to its commitment in other parts of the State, where Maoist violence was on the rise.

About Barbara Forest:

• It is nature’s best-kept secret near Chilika Lake in coastal Odisha.
• It is named after a British woman, Barbara who had been killed by a tiger in the late 19th century while she was with her husband on a hunting expedition.
• The Barbara landscape is an enriched area that boasts several century-old plants sown by the British back in 1910.
• Giant squirrels are found in great numbers in the thick forests of Barbara, making it a major contender to become a sanctuary for giant squirrels.
• Barbara was once historically famous for its tigers, now one can find sambar, deer, mouse deer and bison.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/odishas-barbara-forest-set-for-an-eco-tourism-push/article65313110.ece

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