Hemalkasa
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About Hemalkasa (Lok Biradari Prakalp) Lok Biradari Prakalpa was set up at village Hemalkasa of Bhamragad taluka in the district of Gadchiroli on 23rd December 1973 by late Baba Amte under the auspices of Maharogi Sewa Samiti, Warora. A strong desire […]
About Hemalkasa
(Lok Biradari Prakalp)
Lok Biradari Prakalpa was set up at village Hemalkasa of Bhamragad taluka in the district of Gadchiroli on 23rd December 1973 by late Baba Amte under the auspices of Maharogi Sewa Samiti, Warora. A strong desire to extend a hand of help to the tribal people such as the Madia and the Gond, the most backward of the natives of this region, was the sole purpose behind this adventure.
In April 1974, Baba’s younger son Dr. Prakash Amte and his wife Dr. Mandakini Amte joined the project by opening a centre for free medical care in a small bamboo hut with a thatched roof.
The dense forest that houses the medical centre cuts across the boundaries of the states of Maharashtra, Chattisgad and Andhra Pradesh. In the district of Gadchiroli, surrounded by rivers such as Indravati, Godavari, Vainaganga and Pranhita, Lies Hemalkasa, approximately 200 kms from Chandrapur.
Amte’s Animal Ark
For food, the tribal community in this region depended mainly on hunting. Any animal would do for them. They would bake or cook the birds and animals they shot and quench their hunger. They also consumed wild roots sometimes.
Long walks in the forest with his co-workers was a daily routine with Dr. Prakash Amte when project Hemalkasa was in the nascent stage, in 1974. Once, while on his daily round of walks, a sudden encounter with a tribal taking home his prize, a dead monkey with its living baby, made Dr. Prakash Amte rush forward with a better option. The site of a young monkey clinging to its dead mother elicited a spontaneous response. Dr. Amte offered food-grains in exchange of the concept of animal orphanage. The little monkey, its first inmate!
In course of time, the trible were convinced about Dr. Prakash Amte’s love for animals and birds. They stopped killing the young ones and brought them to Dr. Prakash Amte. The tribal eschewing what would have served as lunch or dinner for a day was in itself a sign of their growing faith in Amte’s concern for them. Inspired by love for animals, Dr. Prakash Amte and his entire team took all the trouble to rear these wild animals. Among the inmates who adorn our Animal Ark today are Tiger, Leopards, Bears, Jackals and Wolves, Hyenas, Porcupines, Deer, Monkeys, Giant Squirrel, Dogs of a variety of breeds along with crawling creatures like Vipers, Banded Crate, King Cobra, Boa, Alligators, accompanied by Owls, Chameleons and a Monitor Lizard.
