After independence, the Binjgiri hill was the victim of excessive deforestation which caused all of the natural resources to deplete rapidly. At the urging of a professor, the villagers in Kesharpur decided to protect a patch of the Binjgiri hills in 1976. This led to the formation of the ‘Brikshya O’ Jeevar Bandhu Parishad’ (Friends of Trees and Living Beings) in 1982 with the participation of the surrounding 22 villages. They laid down strict rules for forest protection and management, like thengapalli (stick rotation) for forest patrolling. The communities also enjoyed good relationship with forest officials throughout this endeavour. Regeneration and protection of the forest became a goal for the villagers and they started planting trees instead of feeding brahmins during death ceremonies. The only foreseeable problems were of equality and leadership in the future.